The Road to Home
by Laughwithabby
Summary: A girl wakes up in a Manhattan hospital with no memory. She doesn't know where to go or what to do, but S.H.I.E.L.D shows up with a job offer saying she has a special gift. Little does she know that she already has ties to S.H.I.E.L.D, and a much more twisted past than she thinks. This is my first story, so please be nice. The first chapter is boring but necessary. Please read! :D
1. Chapter 1

_I finally figured out how to do the line thingy, so now I can do a legitimate introduction!_

_Hi! I'm Abby! This is my first ever fan fiction so please play nice. I hope you like the story. It's been floating around in my head for almost a year and it feels great to get it down. For those who are wondering, I'm going to try to update twice a week. If that doesn't happen I should be able to update at least once a week. The chapters are pretty short after all. I haven't finished all of AOS yet. I'm 5 episodes away from the mid-season finale, so please don't give me any spoilers. I also want to apologize in advance for anything that may be inaccurate. Please review if you have any comments or suggestions. It helps me a lot. I'll answer them when I can._

_ Because of stupid copyright laws, I don't own any marvel characters, I'm just borrowing them to use as I please._

* * *

I open my eyes to a startlingly white hospital room. Soft sheet rest on my legs and a thin pillow rests beneath my head. My eyes drift lazily around the rest of the room, my mind half asleep. To my right, there is a cream-colored curtain drawn across the length of the room. There's a door on the wall to my left. I glance down at my body. My right arm has an IV stuck in it, and my fingers have a small clip on them. I can hear a faint beep that coincides with my pulse.

My mind begins to sharpen, and fear begins to soak my thoughts. 'What happened?!' I ask myself. My breathing and my pulse quicken. I try to think back before this morning. Nothing. I can't remember anything. I sit forward in my bed, and look around, trying to find something that can jog my memory. With no luck, I panic. My instincts tell me to get out. Scared and without anything else to go on, I trust the inclination. I'm going to try to escape the hospital.

I reach forward to unclasp the grey clip from my fingers. A sharp pain shoots up my left shoulder and down my back. 'What the hell?' I grab it, trying to soothe the pain. Once it subsides to a dull throb, I pull down the shoulder of my hospital gown, revealing a large purple bruise. 'How'd I get this?' I silently ask myself. The bruise goes a small length down my arm, past my line of sight, and up my neck. I lean my head back, testing the extent of the wound. I wince as a smaller pain begins to spread down my back, and to the left. 'Great. This makes everything so much easier,' I think to myself.

I carefully unclip the gray clasp from my fingers once again, this time successful. I un-tape the IV, and carefully pull it from my arm. I cringe as the needle slides out from under my pale flesh. I grab a few tissues from the nightstand next to me, and hold them to my now bloody arm. I quickly stand, hoping to get out of here as quickly as possible. I remember I'm in a hospital gown, and curse. 'How am I supposed to walk around in this thing?' But, as I move, I discover that I have a tank top and shorts on underneath the gown. I quickly take it off. 'Great. Now I just need shoes, and then I can get out of here.'

Outside of the hospital room is a large hallway. I don't see anyone besides a small red-headed nurse scribbling on a clipboard. 'That's odd. Aren't there usually more people in a hospital?' I ask myself. I dismiss my thoughts, 'It must be early.' I should be concentrating on escape. To my right, at the end of the hallway, is a door flashing EXIT. 'Perfect.'

I quickly tiptoe to the door, hoping the nurse doesn't catch me. My hand rests on the handle. I swing it open, and slip through the small crack. It silently shuts behind me.

I breathe out a heavy sigh. 'Hallelujah.' There are cheap concrete stairs and plaster walls in front of me. 'I'm almost there,' I remind myself. I just have to get down and out. I fly down the first few flights of stairs, but I'm I'm winded by the time I get to the fifth floor. I must have been in the hospital for a while. I'm pretty out of shape. Some shoes sure would be nice. I pace myself the last few flights.

I get to the second floor when I hear a door open beneath me. 'Oh !' I scramble, looking for a place to hide. Nothing. Just dusty stairs everywhere you look. There's a door to my left, opening to the second floor. There's a sign above the door that reads Psychiatric Ward. I quickly push through it, hoping nobody heard it click shut.

This floor looks almost exactly like the one before. I wait by the exit, in hopes that whoever was climbing the stairs would be gone. 'Just wait 60 seconds,' I tell myself. I begin to count. I only get to 21 before a nurse in pale orange scrubs turns down the hall. There's no doubt that she saw me. Our eyes met as soon as she turned the corner. 'This is just perfect.'

The brunette nurse begins walking towards me. "Miss, you're not supposed to be on this floor," She begins. "Can I help you find your room?" She speaks soothingly, probably because she has experience talking to unstable patients. I don't know what to do. I don't want to go back to my room.

Without thinking, I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind, "Can you lead me to my belongings?" She looks confused for a moment. She stares blankly at me for a while. I don't know what I've done. 'Just run,' I think. I would take a lot of effort, but I think I could do it. But my gut tells me to wait. The nurse shakes her head, looking dazed, and then she stares up at me as if nothing's happened.

"I would gladly lead you to your belongings," She says. She has a dazed expression and emotionless eyes. She's looking in my general direction, but it doesn't feel like she's looking at me. 'What just happened?' I ask myself. The nurse turns and begins to walk down the hall. "This way." I hesitantly begin to walk behind her. I have no idea where this woman is taking me. She could be leading me to a lethal shot for all I know, but, against my better judgment, I'm not too worried about the outcome.

The nurse leads me through the hospital, to a small room full of lockers. She jingles her keys around, searching for the correct one. She eventually unlocks a locker with the name Jane Doe written on the top. In it are some worn clothes and sneakers, a cell phone, and a small wallet. The nurse hands me the items and walks out. I watch her shut the door, leaving me in here alone. 'Okay...?'

I dismiss her behavior, 'Whatever.' My priority is shifted back to escape. I quickly change into the normal looking clothes. They fit perfectly. I look completely ordinary. The cell phone is cheap. The screen quality sucks, and a keyboard comes sliding out from the bottom. The wallet has about $200 in it, but no form of identification or anything telling. The hospital didn't know who I am either, or they would've assigned me anything but Jane Doe. I tuck the wallet and the phone in my pocket, and leave the room.

It wasn't hard to find the stairway again, and after that, leaving the building was pretty easy. Someone even left the back door propped open. When I find the final exit, I slip out of the hospital, and into a large booming city.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed! You guys made my day! If you have any suggestions, please review. It helps me out a lot! I don't own any marvel characters, I'm just borrowing them to do as I please._

* * *

'Manhattan,' I think. 'I'm in Manhattan.' I try to remember how I know where I am, but nothing's coming to me. I try to assure myself that it doesn't scare me as much as it does.

I jog through the back alleyway of the hospital and into a crowd of people. I can hear car horns from all directions. I walk in the general direction of the people around me, not going to do anything specific. I try to soak in my surroundings. Trees are in the process of turning from green to gold. It must be mid to late October. The sun is low in the east. It's probably about 7 am. The people around me are wearing everything from construction gear to high-quality business suits. I have no clue as to where I'm going, but my feet just keep taking me there.

I walk a few blocks then make a right. Then I walk a few more and take a left. I do this for almost thirty minutes, trying to make sure I'm not followed by anyone. I finally find a small French cafe that looks like such a hole in the wall, there's no way anyone could find me here.

I walk in and a faint bell rings. For being in such a gross, dirty area of the city, it's pretty nice. The walls are plastered in a pale pinks and blues. A few people are sitting in various places around the room; all of them are on laptops. There's a small mural of a sunset behind a refrigerated glass case with various European pastries and cakes. They smell divine, and my stomach lets out a violent growl. A thin man covered in flour walks out of the kitchen and behind the cash register next to the pastries. "What can I get for you?" I end up buying a sausage wrapped in flaky dough, a small coffee, and a water bottle. It's all almost $20.

I sit in the far corner of the cafe to eat, and try to come up with a plan. 'Maybe leaving the hospital was a bad idea,' I tell myself. I have nowhere to go, and no plan. What am I going to do? I could've at least gotten some information before leaving. 'I should've stayed put.'

_No_. I have a burning feeling in my gut. For whatever reason, all of my instincts tell me I was right to leave that hospital. I have to lay low. I bury my head in my hands. Everything's so frustrating. I don't know what to do.

I hear the quiet bell as the door swings open and a red head in a leather jacket walks in. A burst of cool wind rushes through the door. The fiery haired girl glances over at me and I look back down at my food. I start to feel uneasy, but ignore it. What would I have to feel uneasy about? I go back to eating my small meal, but my attention stays on the girl.

She orders black coffee and a breakfast bagel to go. With the coffee in hand she turns to sit with me, across the table. My heart starts beating nervously.

"Can I just start by saying that was one of the worst escapes I've ever seen?" She puts her feet on the table and starts to eat her bagel.

Her statement takes me by surprise. "What?"

"You seriously asked a nurse for help? You should've been stopped before you even reached the stairs." She has an annoyed expression. Her light blue eyes seem to see right through me.

"How," I pause, "how do you know about that?"

She reaches for a handshake, "Natasha Romanoff." I take her hand and give a small jerk.

"Why are you here?" Something in my voice made it sound smooth and easy. I don't like it.

She pauses for a moment too long, but I don't pay much attention to it. "I'm doing a favor for a friend. He leads an organization called S.H.I.E.L.D. He's a little under staffed right now, and he wants me to bring you in." For a short moment Romanoff's demeanor changes. She seems startled and confused. The moment passes quickly, however and she continues talking ignoring whatever shocked her. "Look, I can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

I give her a small nod. My gut's telling me she's safe, but I'm shaking. 'This makes no sense,' I think to myself. First I feel like I should run and now that I'm caught I feel like I should surrender. What the hell's wrong with me?

Romanoff leads me out of the cafe and into a large black SUV. I can't see who's in the driver's seat. Once I settle in the car, Romanoff hands me a blindfold, which I willingly put on. I sit back in my seat trying to relax, but despite my best efforts I'm on edge.

I take a deep breath. I hear a blast of air, and a prick on my arm. I whip off the blindfold to see agent Romanoff holding a silvery gun with shiny blue highlights. I look at my arm and a frosty blue circle has appeared on it. I try to glance back up, but I eyes black out and I fall into deep sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hello everyone! I'm sorry if it seems too slow, that's one of the many things I worry about when writing. Please review if you have any comments on the writing or if you have any plot ideas. I have most of the plot figured out, but you never know. I don't own any Marvel media, I'm just borrowing some characters to do what I please with them._

* * *

I wake up in a black room with octagonal panels covering the walls. I have a splitting headache and my neck is annoyingly tight. My hands are strapped to the metal chair I'm sitting in.

Before I have time to think, the panels break showing the outline of a door. A thin brunette walks in, the door slides shut behind her. "Hi," she says with a breathy smile. "I'm sorry about the way you were brought in here. The welcome wagon isn't what it used to be."

"What?"

"Right, you don't know what that is." She takes a seat across the table from me, and opens a laptop. "Natasha told me that you know we're S.H.I.E.L.D. agents." She pauses, waiting for me to speak. When I see I'm not saying anything, she continues, "You were once thought qualified to be put on a list called the Index. You were taken off the list by an agent who turned out to have ties to other organizations. We'd like to know why you were taken off of the list." She pauses, probably expecting me to ask questions, but I just sit. "I'm Skye by that way."

I smile, attempting to be friendly and compliant. "Skye, I don't know what you're talking about."

She rolls her eyes. "I really don't want to have to send Romanoff in here, but I will if I have to."

I feel a rush of anger shoot through my body. "Don't threaten me," I snap. "I've had one of a day, and I'd appreciate it if all you agents didn't assume I know what's going on."

She shakes her head slightly. "You're claiming that you don't remember being inspected for the list?" Skye asks unconvinced. She has an unbelieving look on her face. It aggravates me.

"I don't know what's wrong with me, but I can't remember past this morning." This is stupid. I shouldn't have to answer to her. Something pushes it way to the front of my mind. 'I shouldn't even be here.'

She gives me a suspicious look. "Okay. I have some standard interrogation questions that I have to ask before I'll have you sent down to the science lab for a mental examination."

Skye asks me all sorts of personal questions. Most I don't know how to answer because of my memory loss. Almost 20 questions in she must have picked up on how agitated I am. She started to talk more delicately and avoided outwardly showing that she doesn't believe me.

"Can you tell me who your last employer was?"

"Nope. I can't remember."I shake my head and let out a sigh. I don't want to face anything else I fail to recollect.

As the questions drone on I start to realize that most them are just being repeated in different variations. It's probably an interrogation tactic to ensure the person in question is keeping their story straight. Thankfully for me, my story is easy; I don't remember.

"Have you ever, under any circumstance, been affiliated with a group called Hydra?"We've gone through maybe 30 questions and we are both getting bored.

"I don't know. They don't sound familiar."

Skye shifts in her seat and draws her knees to her chest. She's just as uninterested in this as I am. "Have you discovered any special abilities you may possess?"

Something sparks in my mind. I think back to the nurse and Romanoff. More faces flash in my mind. Nothing more comes. Just faces. So many faces. I close my eyes and try to grasp at whatever my mind was trying to process. Whatever it is, it's gone.

"I know this sounds strange, but when you said that, something…" I pause. Trying to describe what happened without sounding too insane. "Something came to me."

Skye perks up, sitting up straight in her chair. "Alright, it's better than another _I don't know_." She grabs the pen from off the table and positions herself to write. "What _came_ to you?" She gives me a sarcastically devilish smile. I smirk back.

"Well, I saw faces. A lot of them." I wait to see if Skye is taking me seriously. She types something into her laptop, and then gives me a small nod. Reassured, I continue, "First I saw the nurse that helped me get out of the hospital. Then, I saw Natasha faces started appearing in my mind. They kept coming and coming. So many different people, but I didn't recognize anyone."

Skye looks up at me after she's finished typing. "That's it?"

"That's it."

She looks bored again, "Ok, it's better than nothing, I guess." She glances at her laptop again. Visible relief washes over her, "Last question." I almost giggle to myself. Despite having a horrible first meeting; I think I'd like Skye. "Why did you leave the hospital?"

I don't really know what to say, because I don't really know myself. "A bad feeling?" She looks at me strangely. I would too if I were her. "My gut was telling me to get out, that I wasn't meant to be there, so I followed it."

She nods while typing a few more things into her laptop. When she finishes, she grins at me. "That concludes the interrogation." Skye looks genuinely delighted to be through with my boring interrogation. It almost looks like she's talking to the ceiling, "You can let her loose, Mai. I'm pretty sure she's not going to kill me."

The metal cuffs keeping me locked to the chair retract, and I rub my wrists. They have red lined from where the metal met my skin. Skye winces at the sight of it."I'll ask Jemma to take a look at that when she does your mental examination." The door opens and Skye starts to walk towards it. "Follow Me."

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_Sorry about it not being readable at first. Let me know if anything like that happens again. _

_I'm thinking of making the next chapter a Natasha POV. Tell me what you think. Also, I was thinking i'd add like a flashback sort of thing so you can see who the girl is, but it might be premature and confusing. Give me your thoughts, it helps! :D_


	4. Chapter 4

_I went ahead and did the Natasha POV chapter anyway. I thought it would be a nice change from a lot of 'I don't knows' and 'I followed my instincts.' I'd like some thank you's for updating so quickly. And, can we just slow clap it out because this is the longest chapter I've written. Just a reminder, I haven't finished Agents of Shield yet, so I'm sorry if anything is incorrect, and please don't review any spoilers. I'm about 5 episodes from the mid-season finale. As usual, I don't own any marvel characters, I'm just borrowing them to do as I please._

* * *

**Natasha**

"I'm telling you, Coulson, she's must've slipped something in my food or …"

Coulson shakes his head. "She hardly seems like the type to do that, not to mention you've developed immunities to most mind dulling drugs." He takes a seat on his desk. I hate the new office. I hate the new headquarters. I hate Coulson as the director. He's nice and all, but it doesn't take _nice_ to run the agency that's supposed to protect the world. Fury knew how to run this place. Sure, he was a cynical bastard, but he's the only one that saw the Hydra threat coming. Plus, we had an understanding. He didn't have to tell me anything about what I was doing as long as it was for the good of the people. Now everything has fallen into the hands of a tiny team of "agents" who don't know how the real world works.

S.H.I.E.L.D used to be the crowning jewel of spy agencies, now it's nothing more than another fallen regime. I guess something was bound to take it down sooner or later, I just didn't expect it to be growing from the inside since the beginning. How are they going to build themselves back up when they've been reduced down to nothing? They can't even go anywhere without the US military threatening to shoot them down. So what do they do? They set up base in the country that has the largest bounty over they're head. They have almost no outside support. That's why Coulson called me.

Imagine my surprise when a man I thought was dead for more than two years gives me a call. Not to mention, I'd just gotten out. I could maybe have a normal life. No. He drags me right back into the chaos and clutter of S.H.I.E.L.D. It's hard to see my home crumble in the hands of amateurs. At least Coulson had the brain to recruit Barton before he got me involved again. The only reason I'm helping "rebuild" the agency is because Barton has faith in it.

"What do you think of this?" I'm brought back to the real world. He's hologramming a dead member of the index in front of us. "He apparently had the ability to guess what people are thinking based on body language and speech patterns."

I shake my head. "Couldn't be. You know that body language is one of my specialties." I pause, Coulson is scrolling through a tablet looking for different powers mentioned on the Index. I don't want to talk about my slip up, but I'll do anything to hurry this up. "She didn't guess what was going on, Coulson. I told her. When she asked me why I was there it's like something clicked in my mind. I told her exactly why I was there, not holding _any_ information back." Coulson gives me a concerned look. We both know that I would die before giving up any information I wasn't meant to. Whatever she did to me, it's powerful.

"There has to be something we haven't thought of yet." Coulson's eyeing the tablet furiously. What's he trying to do, scare it? He never was very good at hiding his true emotions. Not for an agent anyway. "What if we…" he stopped mid-sentence.

Agent Mai had just opened the door. "Skye just finished the interrogation and she's leading the girl to the science lab for tests," She says coolly. Mai is probably the only agent I actually like here. She's willing to make tough choices and get the job done. I can respect her. Skye isn't bad either, but she's a little too chipper for me.

"I take it, it went well, then?" Coulson asks.

"I doubt the girl's hostile," Mai begins. "She's claiming to have amnesia; we'll see how that turns out." Mai has a small smirk on her face. She doesn't believe the girl. "I think she's frightened more than anything."

"Why don't you go down there and try to make sure she's comfortable, Natasha. I need to speak with Mai anyway." He gives me a nod as if to say 'please don't fight me on this.' Honestly, I'd rather be with the girl who rattled with my mind that in the office with Coulson. I nod back and turn to leave the room.

As I walk through the recycled headquarters, I think about my mistake. How did she get me to talk? It's bothering me. _No one_ can get me to tell them anything, but she asks a simple question and I offer information to her freely. Her voice almost sounded sickly sweet. Maybe she has something in her throat. A chip or something. Whatever it is, I don't trust her.

I reach the lab just after Simmons had drawn some blood from the girl. Skye just said something funny and the group is all smirking. Fitz is over in the corner leaning up against a counter. He's distanced himself from the group, but he's smiling none-the-less. They remind me of Barton and I when we first joined the agency. It used to be about the fun and the thrill, but now we understand the risks as well. Over the years I've learned that nothing in the world is ever pure. There is always something twisted lurking around the corner.

The glass doors slide open for me and I enter the room. "Have you done a mental scan yet?" They need to get down to business, not cracking jokes. This girl could be a dangerous threat, whether she intends to be or not.

"Not yet," Jemma begins. "I thought I'd grab some blood and tissue samples beforehand. A mental scan can be a long process, not to mention I've heard it's quite draining." Fitz nods. There's no doubt that Jemma heard about the process through Fitz. It's a pity his brain isn't what it used to be. I almost feel bad for him.

Jemma sticks a cotton swab in the girl's mouth. She has long platinum blonde hair that comes down to her back about midway. It's greasy; she probably doesn't know the last time she showered. She's still in the clothes I picked her up in as well. She should probably clean herself up after this is done. I make a mental note to make sure that happens.

Jemma smiles at the girl. "Well that's that. I'll begin calibrating the equipment for the mental examination. It shouldn't take more than 15 minutes." Jemma walks over to Fitz and they begin fiddling with some machinery. She's probably walking him through the process more than anything. Oh well, I can use this time to ask the girl some questions.

"Mai tells me you're claiming to have amnesia," I begin. This might be a sore subject, but I'd like to see what she does when she gets angry.

"You're going to see if I actually do in less than an hour, won't you?" She's quick. It's almost like she had that prepared, but that's unlikely. She has a sharp mind.

"If you really can't remember anything, then why did you leave the hospital," I'm trying to push some buttons, get a reaction out of her. "If you stayed they would've been able to help you with your amnesia.

She shrugs. That's odd. "I didn't feel safe. When you say the word hospital, it doesn't make me think of medicine or nurses, it makes me think 'get out.' So I followed my gut and got out." She's looking me dead in the eyes. Nothing about her body language is similar to that of a liar's. She believes she's telling the truth.

"What about your name?" I hope a strike a chord. That must be hard, not to know your own name. I'm sure I'd go insane.

She looks down. I've struck a chord, but not the right kind of chord. "On any identification at the hospital, they had me down as Jane Doe. They didn't have any of my records." She looks up at Skye, and then at me, "I was hoping you'd have it."

I'm about to say something, but Skye intervenes, "We actually do." She reaches for the file by Fitzsimmons. She flips through a few pages, but she finds the file she's looking for. Holding up the paper, she says, "According to us your full name is Samantha Moore, but you prefer to be called Sam."

Sam considers this for a minute, "It doesn't really sound right, but it does sound familiar." Skye may not be as stupid as I thought. Almost every form of identification on Sam's file has been marked as falsified, but Skye didn't let her know that. I flash Skye a look that says 'good job.' She gives one back that says 'I know what I'm doing.'

I'm about to delve into more questions with Sam, but Mai came running into the room. She leans against the table, breathy from running. "Natasha, Skye, get on the Bus now." She takes a few seconds to catch her breath before continuing. "Thor's been spotted in Texas."

* * *

_Before I post the next chapter, let me know if you want me to continue with a Natasha POV or another Sam POV. I've decided I'm going to post new chapters every Sunday and Wednesday night, but I'm also going to hold the next chapter hostage until I get 3 reviews. That shouldn't be too much. You guys's can do it._


	5. Chapter 5

_Hey guys! Its Wednesday! Because _NO ONE _reviewed I decided to post another Natasha POV chapter. I hope you like it! I'm sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes. I don't own any Marvel content, I'm just borrowing some characters to do as I please. Enjoy!_

* * *

Finally, a real mission. I haven't gone on a legitimate mission since before the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. I've mostly been training incompetent agents. Sometimes I'd be sent out to collect someone, like I did with Sam, but those types of things have never been real in my eyes. Even now, it's not exactly a strenuous task. We just have to find Thor, and bring him back to headquarters before another agency gets to him. I doubt he'll be compliant with anyone other than S.H.I.E.L.D; he had a hard time trusting us in the first place. If the Portland base is half as decent as they need to be, he should already be in S.H.I.E.L.D's custody. Thor never shows up on Earth with anything good, though. He always has a problem he's trying to fix.

When Skye, Mai, and I reach the plane, we find that Barton's already grabbed everything we need. We leave immediately.

According to Mai, it should take us about two hours to get to the base in Portland. We have a lot of time to kill. After we make our way to the fully stocked mini-bar we start talking. The first 30 minutes is mostly spent by Clint and me telling Skye about Thor. After that, we talk about the plan to get Thor. It's pretty solid, I'm almost positive we can pull it off. Then we kill some time by betting on the problems Thor's brought for us. Clint bets first, then me. Skye bets that Loki's trying to take over the planet again. Clint tries to hide it, but he winces. Skye gives me a questioning look, and I shake my head and try to get her to drop it. We're left in an awkward silence. The intercom clicks on, and Mai says we have 15 minutes until landing. Clint fiddles with his arrows. I refill my drink. Skye looks around the trashed cabin. We sit like this for a while before Skye asks about the elephant in the room.

"Are you two dating?"

I look at Clint, waiting for him to answer first. He has a dazed look on his face. "We'd like to," He answers. We both wait for him to elaborate. "We've talked about it, and it would be nice, but we aren't in a great position to." That pretty much sums it up.

"We have a job that makes it difficult to be anything but friends," I explain. "But, yes, we'd like to be together."

Skye considers this for a moment, "Good for you." Before I can ask her what she means she clarifies, "You prioritize your lives without denying the feelings you have for each other. You seem like you have it under control to me." It released some of the tension in the room. It feels stupid, explaining this to someone. She doesn't _need_ to know, but it doesn't hurt us to tell her. Honestly, I don't really know what to make of our relationship. It makes me feel validated in a way.

We land and walk half a mile through woods to a gas-station off of the highway. We go in. After some cheesy password response, the manager pulls a lever and the refrigerated section opens to reveal a secret base. We walk in and find Thor's been patiently waiting for us. He sees Barton and me and rushes over to great us.

"Friends, how good it is to see you once more." He's dressed in his usual get up, hammer and all.

"It's good to see you too, Thor," Clint says. I nod, smiling.

"This is agent Malinda Mai and Skye," I say. They all greet each other.

Mai begins to talk, "As lovely as this reunion is, we should be heading back to the Bus now."

We make our way back to the plane discussing how life has been since Manhattan. We tell Thor about the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D and how we've been struggling to rebuild the agency. He seems sympathetic. We all sit down on the ship when Clint asks the question.

"How's your brother been dealing with prison?" It's hard for him to ask. This is more about Clint facing his fears than about the question itself. I know it was hard on him when he first woke up, and it hasn't gotten much better since then. He's trying to move past it.

Thor's face grows solemn. "Loki is dead." The air seems to leave the room. His words hang in the empty space around us. Obviously, this is sad news for Thor, but for Clint and I this is extremely relieving. I'm not sure how to respond, the guy was a madman.

Skye finds the right words, "I'm sorry," She pauses. She looks like she's conflicted about saying anything else. "How did it happen?"

"Quickly," Thor says simply. "He saved me from a dark elf, but I could not save him," he stops. It must be very hard for him. Losing someone isn't easy anyway. He gives himself a few more moments to mourn. "I apologize; I have no need to put my grievances on you. I should explain why I have come to Earth yet again."

He takes a deep breath and forces a smile at us. He's trying to remain stable. "After the death of my brother, my father changed. I believe he feels guilty for Loki's death. He has sent me to retrieve a maid who was once friend to my brother. She was banished to Earth for 300 years, but he has decided to revoke her sentence. I would ask that S.H.I.E.L.D would assist me in my search for her."

Clint responds before I have time to process his request. "Of course we will help you find this girl," he begins. "What's her name?"

"She is named Sygin."

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_I hope you liked it! Next chapter will be from Sam's POV. If you know who Sygin it, then you can probably guess who she is at this point. Hopefully your sti;l a little surprised. Keep reviewing! It helps me!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey guys! I can't believe its Sunday already! This is the shortest chapter so far! Sorry! _

_I don't own any marvel characters, I'm just borrowing them to do as I wish. :D_

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After Natasha left, the room felt lighter. I know she doesn't believe me. It doesn't matter though; they have no reason to keep me here once my memory is restored and I've answered all of their questions. A part of me wonders if I'm a criminal, but it doesn't feel right. I would feel guilty if I was a bad person, right? I don't want to be a criminal, but I should still prepare myself for the worst. I wish I had _something_ to go on, but all I have is a name.

_Sam_.

It doesn't even sound right. I know my name isn't Samantha, but it's not like they could read off a list of names until something feels right. I'm stuck with it until I get my memory back.

I'm tired of following gut feelings and instincts. I want proof and reasonable action. I want information and a reaction. I want reasons. That's why it's so nice to be with Fitzsimmons. They believe in the concrete. Skye told me that they were actually two different people as we were walking to the lab.

Simmons is a phenomenal scientist. I've found I know quite a lot about science. In fact, Simmons was able to explain how the mental examination process works and I could understand all of it. It's not particularly strenuous; it's just extremely difficult to relax the mind to a point where the process can occur. I'm almost excited to do the experiment. I want to have memories back, and this is the first step to regaining them.

"What happens when my memory loss is confirmed?" I ask.

Fitz replies first. "You mean if it's confirmed." He hasn't talked much since I've been down here, and he appears pleased with his sass. His thick Irish accent flows gently. He must be a timid person.

Jemma gives him a bright smile. "_If_ your amnesia is confirmed, we will begin a series of tests designed to bring your memory back. It's important that we find what's been locked up in your head." She holds something up to the light to get a better look at it. "That should do it." She looks back over at Fitz sitting on the counter. "Would you like to check my work, Fitz?"

He hops off of the counter and shuffles over to the machinery by me and Simmons. He examines it for a minute, picking at it like a vulture picks at meat. After a while, he nods. "That should be it." He wipes his nose and saunters back to his spot in the corner. He looks happy to have helped.

Simmons grabs the equipment. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," I respond. She lowers a white piece of machinery around my head, and then pulls something that makes it snap fitting snugly around my brain. Simmons connects a few stray wires to the thing and my heart starts to flutter. I'm so close to answers I can practically feel them on my lips.

Simmons flips a switch on a box connected to the thing on my head. It starts buzzing. "Try to clear your mind," Fitz directs.

I do as he says, trying to close any open doors in my head. A monitor starts to produce something only skilled experts like Fitzsimons can read. My head is as empty as it can be. I close my eyes and focus solely on the buzz of the machine. It's demanding, my mind can't wander at all or I can hear the machine slow, but it isn't too hard. I feel a shock to my head, and I wince.

"Jemma!" Fitz is yelling. "Something's wro…" I can't hear him finish. The device malfunctioned, sending a large shock throughout my head. I pass out. I start to dream of my past, and thing slowly come to me.

I get my memories back.

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_Yay! You'll see who she is soon enough. I'm putting the next chapter on hold until I get 2 more reviews! Better hurry up and review already._


	7. Chapter 7

_Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been posting! I'm currently moving, so it might take me a little longer to update. Hopefully, it hasn't been too long. I don't own any Marvel characters, i'm just borrowing them to do as I wish._

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**Sam**

I wake up in the same room Skye interrogated me in, but this time I'm laying on a springy bed with a few blankets wrapped around me. It's cold. I've decided I hate the cold. I rub my eyes as my mind begins to clear. Everything comes rushing back to me.

I have to get out.

With all my memories, it's obvious. S.H.I.E.L.D would never believe my story. I have too many skeletons in my closet. And, unlike most, I have literal skeletons. All those years running, all those dead friends, I can't let them find any of it. It would ruin everything I've worked for.

There should only be a few agents here now, unless I've been out for more than 3 hours, and most of them have come back with Thor.

_Thor_. He can't know I've been here. It might make him try to find me, and then they would know who I am. I have to disappear quickly and quietly.

I sit up in the small make-shift bed trying to appear confused. Not long after that, Jemma comes in apologizing again, and again.

"I hope you can see how sorry I am," she says for the seventh time.

"Its fine, I swear. It wasn't a big deal," I say for the ninth time. She fusses with my head for a minute, checking for any burns or bruises. 'Good,' I think. 'She doesn't suspect anything.' I need to figure out how many agents are in the building. "Has Skye come back from her mission yet?"

Jemma frowns. "No, but they sent us a message that said they were landing in less than," she glances at her watch, "25 minutes." She smiles brightly at me. I try to give her one back. I hope it doesn't look too forced. I have even less time than I would have guessed. She looks at me and my clothes. "Maybe you should clean yourself up before we continue with any more tests."

I look down at myself. I'm covered in filth and my hair is in knots. "That's probably a good idea." She leads me to a shower and hand me a fluffy towel. The bathroom is organized and clean. There are even little seashell-shaped soaps.

I give myself 5 minutes to clean up and come up with a plan. I turn on the water and steam immediately begins to fog the mirror. Before it becomes completely covered, I allow myself a few seconds to study my reflection. I'm paler than a sheet and my cheeks are hollow from all the time I spent in the hospital. My eyes are a green in the center, but turn a faint blue around the edges. My hair looks platinum blonde. It's almost white. I don't have much to my body. In fact, I look like a twig. I don't like it. I need regain my strength.

I turn away from the mirror and undress. Once I get in the shower, I relax a little. The water is warm against my skin. It loosens my back and it helps me think clearly. I really hate the cold. It doesn't take me long to devise a plan. I just have to get Fitzsimmons to help me out before I leave, and then make them forget I was ever here. That would leave me virtually untraceable. I could use a car before I leave as well. I should be able to accomplish it without too much trouble. The real challenge is the time.

After what feels like five minutes, I turn off the water and dry myself. I crack the door to the bathroom open and find fresh clothes sitting by it. I pull them in and dress myself. I'm wearing a long-sleeved white shirt, jeans, riding boots, and a wine colored scarf. I grab a razor from the shower and stuff it in my pocket. There are hair ties in the drawers. I take one and put my hair up in a wet bun.

I walk out and try to find my way back to the science lab. It isn't difficult. Jemma and Fitz are working on the device that knocked me out. I hope they didn't get any data from the original scan. The doors slide open for me as I walk towards them.

"When did you say Skye and the others would be back, again?" I ask once fully in the room. This makes Jemma jump, but Fitz doesn't even look up from the machine.

"Goodness, you scared me." She looks down at her watch again, "They'll be here in about 15 minutes." I look at the clock on the wall and note that they should return at 5:30 if Jemma is correct.

"Great," I grin at the two of them. I take a deep breath and release it slowly. I don't want to do this. "I need your help getting out of here." They both stare at me like I'm a lunatic. Seriously? I can get into the nurse and Romanoff's minds without even trying, but I can't even get these two to show me a door? I tell myself to try again, this time pouring all of my abilities into my voice. "Will you, please, help me leave this place?"My voice sounds syrupy and thick. I hate it. It isn't who I want to be, but I can't avoid it now.

This time, they give me the response I want. Their eyes lose focus and they nod in unison. "Fitz, I need you to get me an average looking car. Simmons, I need a small gun."

"Of course," Simmons says distantly. They walk off to procure the items I've assigned them. 'So far, so good,' I think to myself. As soon as they leave I start looking for the file with my information. Skye and Romanoff were looking through it earlier. If I find that I know exactly what they know about me. After a small while, I find the file under some lab equipment in one of the drawers. It's not a very good hiding place.

I flip oven the folder and find the data Simmons collected from the brain scanner before it went haywire. On the bottom, in bubbly handwriting, it says 'data inconclusive.' I've been lucky. Everything's been working out in my favor. I start to get a strange feeling in my gut.

"Shut up," I tell it. I followed my instincts before and they lead me here. I will never listen to my gut again. Fitz walks through the door with keys in hand. "Fantastic, now we just need to wait for Jemma to return." I look at the clock on the wall again. Its 5:22. I have eight minutes to get out of here. I sit patiently for almost 30 seconds when the unexpected happens.

A thin-haired man wearing a suit runs into the room with a gun in hand. Damn. He looks me dead in the eye. "Hi," he has a false smile on his face. "I don't believe we've met yet. I'm Phil Coulson, director of S.H.I.E.L.D." This can't be good. If he's really the director, he probably brought backup. His face turns dark. "What have you done to my team?"

"Lower your weapon," I almost command it.

"Excuse me? Was that a threat?" Shit. He's not as easily swayed as the others.

I say it again with more determination. "_Lower your weapon_." My voice is covered in schmooze, dripping in sugar, but he's still as convicted as before.

"Are the effects reversible?" He sounds concerned. "Can Jemma and Fitz be turned back to normal?" He's worried for them. I can see it in his eyes. I hate this. I'm not a bad person, but I can't let them know who I really am.

"Yes," I need to let him know they'll be safe. "I'll let them go as soon as I get out of here." It's the right thing to say. His face softens a bit. "Now, _lower your weapon_." This time, he complies. His arm falls to his side with the gun. "Fitz, lead me to the car. Coulson, hand me the gun." Director Coulson walks towards me and gives me the gun. I shove it down the side of my pants and we all exit the room.

Fitz leads me to a colossal garage with rows upon rows of cars. He leads me to a small silver Volkswagen that isn't too fancy or high speed. He hands me the keys, and I get in the car. I hit a button on the car that opens the large door leading out. Its 5:29. I hear a large engine humming in the sky, but don't see the plane. I don't wait until I see it to go. I drive off as fast as the car will allow, heading to a rundown storage facility in Ohio.

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_I hope you don't hate Sam too much. I want to keep her identity a secret for just a little longer. I though if I were her, this would be my reaction. Next chapter is from Natasha's POV. I don't know when I'll be able to post again, but it should be sooner._


	8. Chapter 8

_I'm back! First off, I don't own any marvel characters, I'm just borrowing them to do as I wish. Anyway, I'm sorry I took so long to update. It took longer than expected to get wifi set up in the new house, but I can finally post again! I hope you don't hate Sam too much. She has all the right intentions I swear! Thanks to everyone who followed/Favorited! Enjoy the story!_

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"You let her leave?!" I'm yelling. Coulson has an ice pack held up to his head. His eyes are bloodshot. What did she do to him?

"I didn't _let_ her leave," he says offended. "She escaped." He pauses. We're in Coulson's office. The team had just got off the plane when Coulson told me and Mai to meet him in his office. We weren't expecting this.

Apprehensively, he says, "Our suspicions have been confirmed. She has mind control abilities." He holds the ice pack closer to his head.

"What happened?" I ask. He looks like he took a beating. I'm genuinely concerned. Even though I'm not fond of the way he runs the agency, Coulson's my friend.

He dives into an explanation, "I found Jemma walking down the hall with a handgun. It was so out of character for her. I knew it had to be Sam. I immediately knocked her out and took the gun. I ran down to the science lab and found Fitz handing her some car keys." Coulson stops and inhales deeply. "She asked me to put the gun down. Her voice almost sounded golden. I wanted nothing but to let go of the gun, but I resisted. I was so worried about Jemma and Fitz, I couldn't just let go." He's speaking softly like it's hard for him to continue. "She asked me to put the gun down again, and the urge came stronger than the first time. I asked her if Jemma and Fitz would be ok, they've been through so much. Sam told be they'd be fine and something in me slipped. After that, everything's a blur. The last thing I remember is seeing her drive away and hearing the plane about to land." He sits on his desk somberly. I'm not sure how to process it.

"Why did you bring her here in the first place?" I don't understand. Isn't this more trouble than it's worth?

Agent Mai explains. "After the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D, we had hardly any agents left. We learned that Hydra was recruiting members of the Index. Coulson sent us out to find anyone that was ever considered eligible for the list and protect them. Some people were even offered jobs. Sam wasn't hard to find. According to our archives she was inspected for list by an ex-member of Hydra. We also found that all of her identification records were falsified. We immediately put her under surveillance. We found signs of mind control, but before we could talk to her, she was hit by a drunk driver. We paid a nurse to contact us if she woke up. We were picking you and Barton up when we got the call that she was missing. The rest is history."

"So you wanted to offer her a job?"

Coulson answers before Mai can. "We wanted to keep her and the people around her safe." Before I can ask any more questions, he changes the subject, "How did your mission go?"

I respond, "Thor's safely in our custody, and he hasn't been spotted by any other agencies. As far as we can tell, everything went smoothly." I'm agitated. Shouldn't we be looking for Sam before she gets too far?

"Why is he here? Please, don't tell me it's Loki again." Coulson shudders.

"Loki's dead," I begin. Coulson holds his breath. "He was killed last year." Something in Coulson's demeanor changes. He's relieved, but he also looks slightly troubled. He's been through a lot, just as much as most S.H.I.E.L.D agents if not more. Considering Coulson died, I'd say he's been through _a lot _more. I need to keep that in mind when I'm dealing with him, it'll help me see things from his point of view.

"Then, why did Thor come."

"Odin wanted Thor to retrieve an Asgaurdian that was banished here. He asked us to help him find her."

Coulson nods. "Did you tell him I'm alive?"Mai and I look at each other. _Whoops_. He picks up on our silent exchange. "Natasha, you and Clint have 5 minutes to break it to him gently, then I want everyone who's here to be in this office."

"I'll get right on that." I smirk and leave the room. I hope Thor isn't as easily upset as Banner.

After searching through the agency for about a minute, I find the whole team in the science lab. Fitz is in a chair looking dazed and Jemma looks blotchy-faced, probably from crying. Skye, Clint, and Thor are all listening to her closely. No doubt she's telling them about her encounter with Sam. Watching Thor interact with humans is odd. He, a man dressed in amour and a red cape, has no trouble sympathizing with our tiny human feelings.

I clear my throat and all heads turn to me. "I need to talk to Clint and Thor. The director wants the rest of you in his office." Skye and Fitzsimmons leave the room. When the glass doors slide closed I start talking. "We forgot to tell Thor about the new director, Clint." His eyes go wide when he realizes what that means. I almost laugh; his reaction is priceless.

Clint starts first. "So, um… Thor, buddy…"

Thor cuts him off. "I assume you are referring to Phil Coulson." Clint and I look at each other shocked. He shouldn't know Coulson's alive. There's no possible way he _could_ know. Thor must see our confusion because he explains, "Last Earth year, Lady Sif came down to Midgaurd to assist S.H.I.E.L.D in a search for Lorelei. When she returned to Asgaurd, she informed me that the man had survived Loki's attack. I am not sure I understand how, but I am grateful he is alive." Clint and I are both stunned. Not only because Thor was aware that Coulson was alive before any of us, but because Coulson didn't think that Sif would tell Thor that he was alive. How did no one think of that?

I put it in the back of my mind. "Coulson wants us in his office too." The walk to the office is short. When we arrive, the team is discussing something in hushed voices, but it stops when we enter the room. They're standing in a half-circle. Mai is to Coulson's right. Skye is hidden slightly behind Coulson, typing something into her laptop. Jemma and Fitz are stand on either ends of the group.

"Phil Coulson, I am happy to see you breathing once more." Thor's voice booms. He's beaming. He strides over to Coulson at his desk and gives him an awkwardly large hug.

Coulson has a smirk on his face. "It's good to see you too, Thor." He nods at me and Clint as if to say 'Thanks.' He doesn't know how easy it was to _break it_ to Thor. I can't help but smirk.

Coulson breaks away from Thor and his face becomes serious. "Now that we're all here, let's get down to business." The room stiffens as its inhabitants prepare themselves for a debrief. "Hopefully, you are all aware of Sam's disappearance. I've told Skye to locate the stolen car that Sam took. I'm sure she won't be hard to locate. I'm putting Skye in charge of this one." Skye straightens up to look at us, shocked. Her jaw is dropped and her eyes wide. Phil tries to suppress a smirk, but just enough shines through. "Natasha and Barton will be working with her. I don't want Sam to be injured, but she has to be brought in. I doubt she's hostile, so it shouldn't be too difficult of a task."

"Except for her ability to _mind control_," Clint chimes in. "Coulson, what's the timeframe for this assignment? I'm not sure we'll be able to do this quickly enough."

"I want her here by the end of the month," Coulson replies strongly. There is no argument. End of discussion. For whatever reason, Coulson needs Sam here as soon as possible. We all nod. Coulson clears his throat, trying to clear the air. "The rest of us will be working towards finding Sygin." He looks me in the eyes. "Any questions?" A collection of head-shakes and no sir's fill the room. "Then let's get going."

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_Next chapter will be from Sams perspective. I'm only going to post on Sundays from here on out. With unpacking and a new school and things, it's hard for me to find time to write. I though I'd cut you all a break and post early this week. See you Sunday!_


	9. Chapter 9

_Hey guys! First, I don't own any marvel characters, I'm just borrowing them to do as I please. Second, sorry for waiting so long to update! I've been pretty busy in the new school, not to mention I've had severe writers block. I haven't been able to get anything down on paper for the past 2 weeks. Try not to kill me. I'm halfway through the next chapter though, so I think I'll be posting this Wednesday. Thanks to everyone who Followed/Favorited/Reviewed. You guys are what motivates me to continue the story! :D_

_Update: I found a pretty profound grammatical error in the chapter. Please let me know if you find any more in any chapters. I'll fix as many as possible._

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**Sam**

I ditch the S.H.I.E.L.D car at a Target. No doubt it has some sort of tracker in it, and by the time I would've found it they would've caught me. I ask some guy if he'd trade his rusty truck for the car. He has no problem with the deal. I don't even have to use my abilities. I hear someone say we're in Michigan. Why S.H.I.E.L.D would set up a base here is a mystery, but I have no intention of telling anyone where what's left of the organization is located. I also learn that it's October 19th.

I switch cars periodically. It's a long drive from West Virginia to Ohio. I try to create a plan for my disappearance. With it almost being winter, I think I'll travel along the equator until winter begins, then I'll go as far North as I possibly can. That should keep S.H.I.E.L.D from being able to find me. I know Russia just ended their treaty with the organization. My subconscious chimes in, 'But I _really_ hate the cold…' I suppress the thought. I don't want to think of anything that has to do with _that_. I shake my head to clear it.

It's almost 15 minutes until I get there. I find a $20 on the floor of my latest car, and decide to stop at a gas station to switch cars and grab some dinner. It's almost 2 in the morning. I grab some beef jerky and an energy drink to keep me awake until I get to the storage locker. I don't know when I'll be able to sleep again. Every time I stop to rest, S.H.I.E.L.D becomes a step closer to finding me. I trade my warm car for the clerk's 90's looking car that has no heater. I'm miserable as soon as the engine starts.

I try not to let my mind drift, but I'm tired. It's been such a long day. This morning, I didn't have any memories, and now I'm driving to Ohio to escape S.H.I.E.L.D. I attempt to focus on the sound of drizzling rain on the car. 'Rain is good,' I think to myself. I open the back windows of the car. A rush of bitter air bursts into the metal death-trap, blowing my hair all around my face, but the wind keeps me awake. Not to mention, I love the smell of rain. I drive like this for a short while.

The road is almost empty except for a blue Sudan that's been by me for the last 5 minutes. The moon peaks through the clouds, floating effortlessly in the sky. Silvery light spills through the clouds and onto the road. After going to the locker, I'll have to find a motel or something. I speed up, my eyes burning. I tell myself that I'll find somewhere to sleep as soon as I'm done checking, but I have to check. I just have to.

I pull into the driveway of the run down storage facility. A sign on the door says "Est. since 1904." I smile. I jump the chain fence, trying not to fall due to lack of sleep. I stumble when I hit the concrete pavement. I look down rows and rows of storage units. My feet absentmindedly shuffle to the locker I know is mine. Every 3 years I usually make a deposit to the owner to make sure nothing unexpected keeps me from seeing my things again.

When I find my locker I stand in front of it looking at the chipping paint on the rusty metal door. My hands are clasped together. I hold my breath. "Everything will be okay," I whisper to myself. My old life is in this locker. I take a few steps forward to unlock the door. It looks like an ordinary combination lock is keeping the look shut, but there's a small thumb scanner on the back. I hold my finger to it for what seems like an eternity. It unlocks with a click. I take another deep breath, and grab the door to lift it open. It opens clanging as loudly as possible when it reaches the top.

I let out a heavy sigh when I see my things. Furniture and devices from as far back as 1905 line the walls. I take a few steps into the locker, my fingers dance lightly on a dusty 1920's radio. I give myself exactly 30 seconds to reminisce, and then I have to get what I came here for. I look around lovingly at all my belongings. My eyes stop on a picture of me and 4 friends laughing at a candy shop. I snort. They were so much fun.

My time is up and I look away, trying to find my jewelry box. It takes me a minute, but I find it. It's hidden behind some faded paintings. The box is unlike anything else in the locker. Made completely out of a golden metal, the jewelry box has intricate designs painted all over its surface in a deep blue. I brush my hand across the top, dusting it off. It has no visible seams or openings. I bring it to my lips and whisper "Open." The box obeys and a tiny seam of light shines in my eyes. The box breaks in half in my hands. Sitting in one of the halves, wrapped in a velvety material is a small necklace. I carefully unwrap the necklace and study it for a minute. It has a long gold chain and a petite white jewel dangles at the bottom.

I hold it up to the light. A faint smile creeps it way onto my face. I hold it in my hands hoping something will happen. "Not today," I think. I'm almost disappointed, but I didn't really get too hopeful in the first place. I decide to put it away, straightening the chain before I wrap it again. The jewel glints. I look down at it, and it sparkles again. I get excited, praying this is what I've been waiting for. The white jewel lets loose a light blue glow, and I beam. My mind starts to go crazy. "This is it!" I think. "I get to go home!"

I stuff the necklace in my back pocket, trying to contain my grin. I shut the locker door quickly, and lock it once again. There's no way I can sleep after this. S.H.I.E.L.D might as well come lock me up now, I'll be home in a few days anyway. I walk briskly back to the beat up car, making my way through the maze of storage lockers. Nothing could ruin tonight. I try to take an emergency exit a few feet away from the car, but a shadow steps in between me and the door.

It says simply, "I was beginning to wonder when you would arrive."

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_I know its short, but it seemed like the logical place to end it. I hope I haven't been completely obvious with the story line. I hope it still has some mystery about it. Please review! It helps motivate me! Love you guys!_


	10. Chapter 10

_Hey guys! I don't know why its so hard for me to write lately, but I'm working on it. Sorry for not updating for so long. I hope you like the chapter! I just want to clarify, this story takes place in between season 1 and 2 of Agents of Shield. Its also after Thor: the Dark World, just thought you might need to know that after this chapter. I don't own any marvel characters, I'm just using them to do as I wish!_

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**Sam**

I kick the dark figure in the gut. It clutches at its stomach in pain, making a deep groaning sound. It's a tall, thin man. I take a few steps back holding my fists in the air. "Who the are you and what do you want?" I demand in my syrupy thick voice. I want information, and I will use my gift to get it. The man steps forward, closer into the light of a nearby street lamp. I can't quite see his face, but I do see a small smirk creep its way onto his mouth.

"You should know that trick won't work on me," he says knowingly. I furrow my brow, confused. There are hardly any people who aren't affected by the gift, and _none_ of them should be here with me. They are forbidden to communicate me.

The man takes another step closer, and I tense. He may know me, but he's given me nothing to identify him by. The light is shining clearly on his face. I _do _know him. I can see his angular features. A devilish grin is growing on his face. His long black hair is slightly greasy, like it hasn't been washed in a while. I look straight into his vibrant, glassy blue eyes, desperate to confirm that he's the man I knew once upon a time. They shine brightly and kindly. _Loki._

My arms fall to my sides and I relax a little. I stare at him for a few more seconds, trying to make absolutely sure it's him. I can feel tears grow in my eyes. It's been such a long time since I talked with anyone from home. My heart aches and I decide to let my emotions run free. I sling my arms around him, and let my silent tears fall into his chest. He hugs me back tightly, placing a hand on my head.

After a few moments like this I pull away. I wipe the tears from my eyes and bury my emotions once again. With a shaky voice I say, "You aren't supposed to be here. I can't be in contact with anyone from Asgard."

Loki quickly replies, "Not anymore," in a sturdy English accent. His smirk is replaced by a gentle smile. "Sygin, your sentence has been lifted. I was sent to retrieve you."

His words pass over me. I don't realize what he said may be real. It sounds too good be true. When I finally accept it, I grow confused. I don't understand. I was sent to Earth for 338 years. I haven't lived out even half the sentence, what could have changed? How could I be allowed to return so soon?

He decides to ignore my confusion, because Loki motions for me to follow him to a nice SUV parked by my dumpy car. He must have brought it here somehow. While we walk he says, "Before we continue this conversation, perhaps we should find an inn for you to rest in. You look like you haven't slept in days." I nod. I have so many unanswered questions, but my body is about to give out. I just woke up from a coma 2 days ago. I have absolutely no muscle and no endurance. Staying awake for this long is hardly healthy.

We both get in the car. The seats are made of soft black leather and dim blue lights shine on the inside. Loki is stiff in his seat. I laugh a little. "It'll be just fine. I'm a perfectly safe driver."

He frowns. "Why are you talking like that?"

I hadn't even noticed. I'm so used to talking with an American accent, that I didn't even realize I was doing it. I mentally adjust my speech before talking, "I've been trying to fit in with these people for so long. I didn't notice I was doing it." Halfway through the sentence I snap back into an old English-sounding accent. It feels weird on my tongue, but I try to keep in mind that eventually it will sound normal, like all the other accents do. Loki accepts the answer, but it looks like something changed in his demeanor. Maybe he thought that the time I was forced to spend on Earth wouldn't change me. It has.

I put it out of my mind, and change the subject. "How is my family?"

He perks up a little. "They are doing very well. Your father was promoted to primary defense captain. He was made aware of your return this morning." Loki smiles genuinely. "They're making preparations for your return as we speak."

"When do we leave?" I ask excitedly. "There are a few things I'd like to collect first."

Loki's face grows darker. He tries to cover it with a smile, but I can see something hiding. "Your return isn't scheduled until 2 weeks from now. I was hoping you could show me your favorite places on Midgard before we leave."

"Isn't that against the word of Odin?" At the mention of his father's name, I see Loki shift uncomfortably. There is something he isn't telling me. I let it go, if he has something to say, he'll tell me when he feels he should.

"Odin has changed much since you were banished." Before I left, interfering in the affairs of Midgard was punishable by death. I have too many questions to count. I've just been away from my home for too long.

We sit in silence for a short while before I find a small Marriott hotel. I pull into the parking lot, and park the car by the back door just in case S.H.I.E.L.D decides to surprise me with a visit. Not that they can do anything, I'm no longer bound by Midgard's rules, but I promised myself I wouldn't hurt humans a long time ago.

I take the keys out of the car. Its quiet hum is silenced. "I don't have any money. We're going to have to use magic on these people." I shudder at the thought. Before I lost my memory, I didn't use my powers unless it was absolutely necessary. I don't like to think that I'm taking people will away from them. Now, it seems like I'm using magic for the fun of it.

I look at his outfit for the first time. Its casual Asgardian attire, of course made up of green and gold. It would be normal if we were on Asgard, but here it looks too odd. "Maybe you should change your clothes before we go in," I offer.

"Oh, right." He looks down at his clothes and a golden shimmer washes over them. He's now wearing a green t-shirt and jeans. "Will this do?"

I nod. He shouldn't know what midgardian clothes look like. The only way he could is if he'd been on earth recently, and there's no way that's happened. Right? I know Thor's been on earth lately. Maybe he told Loki about some of Earth's customs. I try to convince myself that it must be true, but I feel like I'm overlooking something. The sooner we sit down and talk, the better.

We briskly walk to the lobby of the hotel. There's a stern-looking middle aged man at the front desk working the night shift. I don't see anyone else. I loop my arm around Loki's and whisper, "Follow my lead." I walk through the front doors of the lobby giggling. Showing people something believable makes them more susceptible to magic. "Hi!" I say giddily to the man. "We just got off a plane from Washington. We're on our way to Europe for our honeymoon, but apparently our next flight is at 4 in the afternoon, not 4 in the morning," He looks uninterested, but that's better than skeptical. Magic shouldn't be a problem at this point. I sweeten my voice with it, "Could you give us both a room with 2 queen sized beds without charge? We'll only be staying here until noon tomorrow."

His face relaxes and his eyes go blank, "Of course." He types a few things into his computer and, after a few seconds, hands us two key cards. "Enjoy your stay," He says plainly.

I smile and we begin to walk to the room. When we're out of earshot of anyone who could hear us, Loki asks, "What's a honeymoon?"

I smile. "Nothing. It's just a Midgard thing."

We finally get to the room and I throw the keys on the dresser. "I call this one." I half fall half jump on the bed closest to the window.

Loki speaks softly, "Sleep well. I'll be here if you need anything."

I almost immediately drift off into a dream.

* * *

_So this was a pretty revealing chapter, I hope this wasn't too predictable. The next chapter will be from Skye's perspective. Hope you like it! _


	11. Chapter 11

_Hey guys! I'm actually updating on time this week! What a miracle! _

_This chapter is from Skye's perspective! Its kind of goofy, so I hope you like it. The plot isn't really being developed too much, but I thought it'd be good to add this chapter. It helps develop their relationships, and its a break from all of the drama going on in the story. Thanks for following/favoriting/reviewing!_

_I don't own any marvel characters, I'm just borrowing them to do as I wish._

* * *

**Skye**

"I found something!" I yell to Natasha and Clint. They come running to my side, looking at my computer screen. "There's footage of Sam sneaking into a really old storage facility in Ohio, but only of her entering. The connection was cut after she jumped the fence." Natasha looks at the screen critically, but nods in approval after a while.

Clint comments first, "It looks like her, but can we be completely sure before we go down there to check it out? Sam's pretty crafty, she lost the car the first chance she got. There's almost no way we can track her based on the trail of cars she left us." Clint takes a deep breath. We've been trying to track her since 8-ish. Last I checked, it was 3 thirty. "It's not that I don't want to believe that's her, but before we pack everything up and leave for Ohio, we should make sure it's actually her."

"She's probably working with someone as well," I chime in. "She obviously didn't cut the power herself, someone else must have. And, we have no way of knowing who it is. They may not be working with her either. They could be after Sam just like we are, and we don't even know Sam's real identity either."

Natasha responds quickly, "I'd say we have about an hour before she tries to cover her tracks again. Honestly, we should be heading out there. Like you said, Clint, Sam's crafty and she's fast. This is the only lead we have and it's about to run dry. If we act now, we'd have a better chance of catching her."

"If we left in one of the jets right about now, we could get there within an hour," I say, feeding into Natasha's idea. "We could come up with a plan on the way, and if it is a false lead, we wouldn't lose anything." Clint is finally nodding in approval, so I continue feeling confidant, "I think Romanoff's right. We're leaving in 10 minutes. Grab anything you think is necessary, and meet me in the Quinn jet." They both nod and walk off to grab weapons and supplies.

It feels so weird to be in charge, especially when my "subordinates" are some of S.H.I.E.L.D's best agents _ever_. Calling the shots isn't my most favorite thing to do. Most of the time I'm afraid I'll steer them wrong, but I'm still super excited! The first time I'm in charge of a mission and I get such amazing teammates to help me out. They know what they're doing, and I'm sure they'll help me come to the best conclusions I can. Coulson wouldn't put me in charge if he thought I couldn't handle it.

I run to my room and grab the "emergency pack" Mai helped me prepare. It has everything I could possibly need to survive. It even has a small plastic knife that can be snuck into airports and highly secure areas. I dash down to the lab to get an icer and two hand guns along with plenty of ammo. Like Clint said, I don't know who and how many people Sam is working with, you can never be too careful. I see a clock that says its almost 4 in the morning. I swear, we've been working on this case all night.

Before we leave, I make sure I let Mai know that we're leaving. I told her I couldn't find Coulson, but she tells me not to worry about it. Something weird is going on with him.

I make my way back to the jet with a minute to spare. Clint and Natasha are already waiting for me there. "Ready to go?" Clint asks with a smile. I smile back, trying to say something like 'shut up, moron.' He seems to get the message, and we make our way onto the jet. We've grown to be pretty friendly in the 8-ish hours we've worked together. He's pretty sarcastic. I think we could be close friends by the time this mission is over. I can't say the same for Natasha. Sometimes she'll laugh at Clint, but most of the time, she's serious about the mission. Maybe that's just the way she is. I secretly hope she likes me in her weird, closed-off way.

"So, I don't actually know how to fly one of these things. I was assuming one of you two could get us there," I offer. I doubt they _wouldn't_ know how to operate a jet with all the experience they have.

Romanoff opens her mouth to respond, but Clint beats her to it. "You've never flown a jet? I guess we're going to have to teach you while we're on our way." He winks as Natasha and she rolls her eyes, but I can see a small smile inch its way onto her face. He can't be serious. There's no way I'm going to fly a jet.

Natasha walks into the cockpit, "I'll get us up in the air."

Clint and I strap ourselves to our seats. The engine roars to life and I see Barton jump in the corner of my eye. I try to suppress a grin, but I can't help it. I'm about to comment on it when the jet jerks forward about 10 feet. This time both of us jump. I look forward at Natasha to see if anything went wrong, and I'm surprised to see her looking right back at us with a devilishly large grin on her face. She did it on purpose. "Not funny Nat!" Barton yells at her. She turns back to the controls and begins fiddling with them again. The jet starts to roll forward gaining speed until it jumps off of the ground. We get up to 50 thousand feet fairly quickly, and Clint and I detach ourselves from our seats.

We walk up to the cock pit to talk to Romanoff. "So, what's the plan?" Clint asks.

"We should start at the storage place and see if there were any witnesses. We should also check any security footage of any surrounding street cameras, assuming they weren't tampered with," Natasha answers.

They both look at me waiting for an OK or something. "What?" I hold my hands up defensively. "Sounds like a great plan. You guys are the expert secret agents, not me."

Clint scoffs. "You may not be as experienced as us, but you're just as much of an agent. Skye, you offer new perspectives and new ideas that we may not come up with."

Natasha chimes in, "It may not look like it, but Clint and I have been in this business far too long. We're outdated agents."

"Pffft," Clint spits. "Speak for yourself. I'm at the top of my game." Romanoff rolls her eyes again. It seems like a pretty common occurrence when they're in the same room together.

I smile. "Thanks guys."

"So…" Clint's face twists wickedly. "Are you ready for your first flying lesson?"

"No way," I say quickly. "With my luck, we'd crash and burn." I mean for the words to sound light-hearted and playful, but I'm so serious it scares me. Apparently, I really don't want to fly this plane.

"Nonsense," Clint banters. "The worst thing that's ever happened was us plummeting a few thousand feet. Remember that, Nat?"

Romanoff shakes her head. "Yes, and I'm never letting anyone other than a professional fly me ever again. That was a nightmare."

"Come on Natasha, it'll only be for a few minutes. The girl's never flown anything before." Clint begs.

I respond before Natasha can. "Actually I've flown Lola, but that's beside the point. I am _NOT_..."

They both turn to look at me, shocked. "You've flown _Lola_?" They ask in unison.

"Yeah…" I say slowly. "Phil and I were falling out of the bus, and…"

"I've never been allowed to sit in Lola, let alone fly her," Clint interrupts. "Do you understand how much Phil must trust you?" After a brief pause Clint starts back up again. "Skye has to fly this plane."

"No way in will she ever fly this plane, Clint," Natasha fumes. "Drop it."

Barton points to the steering wheel in Natasha's hands. "Obviously this controls horizontal movement, but if you move the steering wheel vertically it also controls the elevation of the plane." He turns back to face me. Natasha is shaking her head in silence probably annoyed. "Right now, Nat has it set to a specific elevation, so it isn't movable. But, before we give you control, I'll make sure it's turned off so you can get the full experience. You won't need to know what any of these fancy buttons do, they mostly control tactical maneuvering, takeoff, touchdown, and the fire arms on this thing." He smiles reassuringly. "Get ready, because your about to fly."

This time, _I_ can't help but roll my eyes. Romanoff made it very clear that I'm not flying this plane. I start to relax a little. I smile at Clint mockingly.

"Natasha, I'm going to ask you kindly one more time. After that, I'm going to pull out the blackmail."

"Ha!" She lets out a fake laugh. "What black mail could you possibly have on _me_?" She looks back at him knowingly. He just smirks.

"If you don't let Skye fly this plane, I will tell her _all_ about Budapest." He lets it sink in, a winning look on his face.

Natasha thinks about it for a moment. She looks him up and down, trying to tell if he's bluffing or not. After a while, she gives in. "Dammit Clint. Just tell me when."

"Wait, do I get a say in this?" I ask growing scared.

"Nope," Clint responds. "Nat, when I say, turn off autopilot, and jump out of the seat. That should make her want to save the jet."

"What?" I'm shocked. I don't know what just happened, but it looks like I'm actually going to have to fly this thing.

"Ready… Now!" Natasha jumps out of her seat and flips a switch. The jet immediately dives forward. I'm thrown off balance, and I fall flat on my face. Clint starts to laugh. I grit my teeth and climb my way into the chair. "You better hurry before the plane starts to stall. After that, it'd be hard for even Natasha to save us."

I take a deep breath and pull up hard on the wheel. The jet dives down even further. Clint falls on the ground this time. I'd laugh, but I'm trying to focus on not getting us all killed.

"Push down! It'll make the jet go up." I don't know who says it, but I follow their orders, pushing the wheel down hard. The jet scoops upwards and Clint falls again. This time I laugh. I ease up on the wheel and the jet starts to level out. That was horrible. What were they thinking?

Clint taps on a meter. "Wow. We dropped almost 15 thousand feet. That's got to be a new record." He smiles at Natasha who punches him in the arm hard. After rubbing it for a second, he holds his hand out to me. "Congratulations! You are officially the worst pilot I've ever taught." His smile is wide.

I punch his stomach. He lets out a large groan. I'm mad that he would do that to me, but a laugh bubbles in my throat. "That was _awesome_!" I giggle. The duo look at each other confused, then back at me. Clint busts up and Natasha has a large grin on her face.

"When you fell on your face I thought we were goners!" Clint admits with a big smile.

"Seeing you fall flat on your helped me concentrate," I retort.

Natasha motions for me to move. "Ok, get up before we start falling again." She's still smiling which is a good sign.

That was the most fun I've had since Hydra took S.H.I.E.L.D. I can't wait to find what else these two do to have fun.

* * *

_Yay! They're all great friends now. Hopefully it wasn't too corny for you._

_The next chapter will be from Sam/Sygin's perspective. I was thinking about maybe making the one after that from Coulson or Thor's perspective. Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!_


	12. Chapter 12

_Hey guys! I'm updating in time again! Its a miracle! This is the longest chapter I've written so far, totaling at 3,700 words. Its also potentially very confusing. Ask me about anything that wasn't clear through reviews. Those things are pretty nifty. Just to clarify, Sygin is dreaming about her past. Specifically, how she came to be banished on Earth. I seriously hope its not too cheesy._

_I'd like to give a special shout out to NN010 and Funkysamurai for reviewing. Thanks so much! You guys really made my day!_

_I don't own any marvel characters or plots. I'm just borrowing them to do as I please._

* * *

**Sygin**

The year in Midgard was 1888. I remember it very clearly, despite trying to forget it many times over. This was the year I was banished, and the year my subconscious decides to dream about the moment my head hits the pillow.

* * *

"I promise, nothing's going to happen. It's been ages since we've been to Midgard." Loki pleads. "I know you wish you could observe the humans, like we used to. We can go just for the day."

We're in the palace library. I'm trying to read about various techniques for manipulative magic. This is my specialty. I've been "gifted" with the ability to inflict my will on others. My family encourages me to develop the talent, but I hate having the power to take away the free will of others. I follow my family's guidance regardless. Having a power like mine is rare and highly desirable. Apparently, it's the hardest form of magic to master, but it comes naturally to me. Loki is making it extremely difficult to study, begging me to go to Midgard with him.

"It's against the law, Loki. We can't do it," I answer.

"My father's the Allfather, how much trouble could we get in?" He has a devilish smile on his face.

I refuse again. "It's dangerous. There's a reason Odin banned us from interfering in Midgardian affairs."

"It'll just be for a day. I know you're fascinated by humans. We don't even have to interact with them, it will be purely observational." He knows he won me over.

I chew my lip, trying to remind myself how dangerous it could be. I find the perfect excuse, "Heimdall would never allow us passage." This time I know I won the argument. I'm sure my face shines with triumph.

"We don't need Heimdall," he states simply. "I have a different route I want to try."

I don't understand. "What do you mean? There's no other way to get to Midgard. It's impossible."

"Then you have nothing to worry about. The chances of me finding another passage are slim at best. If I can get us there, will you promise me you'll go?" He replies quickly, like he had it planned. "

I scoff. "Fine, I promise." If anything happens, at least I'll be there to keep him out of trouble.

"Fantastic!" He exclaims. He grabs me by the wrist and we run out of the library together.

We pass column upon column of golden arches in the palace. Silky tapestries hang from the ceilings. Ornate symbols decorate the floor. We reach a tall stair case leading to Loki's room. My dress is difficult to run in and I almost trip multiple times. Each time, Loki instinctively pulls me up again. Upon entering his room, the colors change from various metallics to green and gold. A large bed is in the center of the room and various books are stacked on the floor surrounding it. He lets go of my arm and walks to a bookshelf to get a book. He flips through a few pages before turning back to me. He flashes me the contents of the book. It shows a small cave.

"This is how we're getting to Midgard," He says excitedly. I see various notes scribbled on the area by the picture. Some of them are in Loki's handwriting, some are not.

I decide to play along. "Alright. Lead me to this magical cave that will disobey the laws of nature."

He gives me a questioning look, but otherwise ignores my sarcasm. "First I have to tell my father that you and I will be in town for the day. We can't very well have a price go missing."

I shake my head and roll my eyes. "You can be so pompous."

"Relax, I was being sarcastic," he replies with a smile.

We start to walk to the throne room. Odin is usually there at this time of day, talking to his group of high-ranking officials. For whatever reason, Loki doesn't have the best relationship with is father. This should be an interesting conversation.

We get to the throne room quickly, it isn't far from Loki's bedroom. The colossal doors are thrown open by a pair of soldiers guarding the room. Odin is surrounded by his trusted group of officials. Their conversation comes to a halt. "Loki," Odin begins, "Is something wrong?"

"No," he replies. "I just thought to inform you that Sygin and I will be spending the day in town. I know last time I went missing, the palace was left in quite the uproar." Loki flashes a fake smile to the group. I don't know why he is so detached from his father.

Odin sighs. "Very well then. Be home by nightfall."

"Of course." Loki bows and I do a small curtsy before we turn to leave.

When we're out of earshot I mumble, "Well, that was awkward."

"You have no idea," he mutters. He's obviously upset by his encounter with his dad, so I decide to change the subject.

"Where is this cave that you say will transport us to Midgard?" I ask.

At the mention of his experiment, Loki perks up a little. "It's on palace grounds, not far from the garden actually."

"And, how does it work?"

"I have absolutely no idea, but I have evidence that it will." He reaches into the book and pulls out a small flower with blue-ish purple petals. "This flower doesn't grow here. Only on Midgard."

I'm about to say something sarcastic about his lack of evidence when I see him looking at the flower, fascinated by it. I shake my head, and decide not to comment on it. We walk out of the palace and onto an expansive grassy field. The mountains have a golden halo in the distance, and the cool morning air chills my skin. No doubt Loki loves it. He's always liked the air cooler. "Is it far?"

"Not at all." He points at a cluster of rocks in the distance. "It's right there."

We walk in silence the remainder of the trip, the tall grass rubbing against my legs, catching my dress every now and then. We eventually reach the cluster of rocks. They're large and white with streaks of gray and black. Now that I'm here, I can see how massive the rocks actually are, completely blocking the sun from view. Loki leads me around a bit before finding the cave. After looking at it for a second, I realize it leads down into the ground.

"This is it," he says triumphantly. I don't know why he'd be excited to go down there. My stomach starts to flutter, and I swallow hard, trying to rid myself of the lump in my throat. Loki must see this. "You can't go back on your word now."

"Then let's get going," I say bravely. I look up at him to see a wicked gleam in his eyes. He's up to something.

He grabs my hand and walks down into the cave, pulling me behind him. It's dark down here. After a few steps the ground levels out. The walls shrink more and more as we walk forward. Loki lights up the area in front of us with magic. We walk for a while before I admit that I'm scared. "Maybe we should turn around," I offer.

"Can't you feel that draft coming from the other side?" He asks. "We're almost there, I promise."

I'm nervous. Nervous that this cave isn't what Loki thinks it is, and we end up stuck down here. Nervous that the cave _is_ what Loki thinks it is. We could actually end up in Midgard, and that scares me.

Loki lets his golden light fade, and I see a faint blue light stretch on the floor in front of me. I let out a small gasp. Loki laughs. I hit his arm lightly. He laughs even harder. Could this be it? Are we really in Midgard? Loki pulls my hand a little harder to say 'faster,' and I speed up, but just a little bit.

The grounds inclines slightly, and Loki and I walk up the small expanse. We emerge, not onto a grassy field, but into a dense forest. We're on Midgard.

"We did it," Loki says breathily. He looks at me with a childish smile on his face.

"Now what?" I question. Unlike Loki, I didn't think this would actually work. I don't have a plan.

"Now we explore the world of mortals." He says. He turns to look around, not realizing we're still holding hands. I pull mine away immediately. He flashes me a questioning look, before walking off.

"Where are you going?" I ask.

"There's a path in that direction." He nods forward. I follow behind him a few feet. We find the path and follow it until we can see beyond the trees. In the distance, I see a city on a small island. We turn to each other and smile. Silently, we agree to spend the day there.

We eventually reach island. We walk a short bridge to enter. Many people give us strange looks. We quickly realize our clothing is much different than that of the people on this island. We find a small shop in which we buy new clothes. We learn that the island is called New York City.

We walk out of the shop in our new clothes and explore the city. It's wonderfully fascinating. The people on this planet still have yet to discover a use for electricity. Their lives are so short, yet they feel as if they can make a lasting difference. I was right to take an interest in mortals. I feel as if I could study them for years!

The day passes by too quickly. The sun is setting, and I haven't been able to explore half of the things I wanted to. Not to mention, New York is a tiny portion of earth. It would take years to really understand humans the way I want to.

"The sun's about to set," Loki says wistfully. "We should start walking back to the cave."

Loki and I walk down the street together, heading towards the bridge. "We should return here soon. There's so much more I want to explore," I admit.

"But, it's against the law," Loki mocks. I give him a warning glance, but I can't help but smile. "Maybe we could visit after our wedding."

I stop walking, upset by his statement. "That wasn't funny."

"It wasn't meant to be," he starts. "We're betrothed. We can't ignore it forever."

"I can try." I say angrily, walking far ahead of him. It shouldn't upset me that much. I've known about it for years, but I absolutely refuse to let anyone make that important of a decision for me. I've been fighting it ever since I've known. It's because of my magical abilities. When they were first discovered, I was immediately taken to Odin. He offered my family the opportunity to gain wealth and status through a marriage arrangement. Of course, they accepted. When Thor showed no interest in me, I was dumped on Loki. We'd grown to be close friends, but I still won't accept it. I was given the ability to control other people, but because of that ability I have no choices of my own.

I hold my breath for a while, trying to calm myself down. It isn't Loki's fault, I shouldn't take it out on him. I take a deep breath and turn around to face Loki again. He opens his mouth to say something, but I speak first. "I'm sorry. You'd think I would be fine with it by now."

"It's fine. I should know you don't want to talk about it." He squeezes my hand. "Let's go home." I nod and we start walking again.

I hear someone yelling in the distance, and the sound is getting closer. I turn around to see a man running straight at us. Something called a police officer is running after him shooting silvery balls. A loud noise is released every time the officer shoots. The man stops running in time to dodge a silver ball, but the ball continues flying forward, and it hits Loki in the chest. He falls to the ground.

"Loki?" Is all I can manage to say. I'm in shock. I crouch down to check his chest. Blood is soaking his shirt and a small hole leads to his wound. "Help!" I call out looking around at the bystanders. Snow begins to flutter around me.

"Someone, please, help!" I yell again. Everyone runs away from me in fear. I look around, trying to find what they would be afraid of. I feel the wind begin to whip. Snow is swirling around Loki and I like a tornado. Blocks of ice are forming in the street. A huge storm forms in the sky. Anyone who was outside a moment ago has disappeared. I look down at Loki, hoping to fix his wound myself. I jump back, scared. Loki had turned completely blue with strange patterns on his skin.

Everything is happening so fast that I panic. I decide to call to the only help I have. "Heimdall!" I yell. "Heimdall, please, open the bifrost." A flash of light circles around Loki and I and we appear in the golden bifrost.

I see Heimdall point to a guard. "You, go tell Odin his son is in trouble." The guard runs towards the palace immediately. Heimdall focuses his attention on me. "What happened?" he demands.

"I don't know," I sob. I realize I've been crying. "We were on Midgard and he got hurt and then snow formed and…" I drift off, crying too hard to continue. To be honest, I don't know what just happened. It was so fast, and none of it made any sense.

"It will by fine, Sygin," Heimdall says soothingly. "Where was he injured?" I pull down Loki's shirt and jacket, reviling the circular wound. Loki's skin is slowly losing its blue hue, but he feels so cold. Heimdall grabs my skirt and rips a large portion of it. He presses the fabric into Loki's chest hard. Loki winces. I sigh with relief, he's still alive. I hear a horses approaching, but my eyes don't leave Loki. Heimdall looks up at me. "Keep pressure on his wound," he instructs. I reach for the rag and press down.

Heimdall stands and walks to the horses. I force my eyes away from Loki, and see Odin ride up to the bifrost on a silvery horse. The guard comes galloping behind him, holding the reins of another hose. "Get him to the palace _now_," Odin booms. Heimdall assists the guard, lifting Loki onto a horse. The guard sits behind Loki, keeping him straight. "Sygin, it's best if you come too." Odin holds out the reins to the third horse. I stand up, and wipe my bloody hands on my dress. I take the reins and mount the horse. We all ride up to the palace as the sun sets.

The ride is short, less than 5 minutes. We ride the horses up to the front doors of the palace where a pair of healing magicians are waiting to help Loki. They take him into a room where they are supposed to remove the metal ball. Frigga is already waiting in the room, but Odin motion motions for her to leave. He takes the two of us to a room with a large ornate fireplace. We sit in red velvety chairs. "Could you explain to Frigga and I what happened?" Odin asks gently. He's probably overwhelmingly worried for his son.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. There are still tears in my eyes. "Loki and I were in Midgard exploring a city," I start. At the mention of Midgard a small fire lights in Odin's eyes, though he controls his anger well. I explain to them how Loki was injured with a small silver ball, and how a storm started to form. I told them how I called for help. I told them how their son turned blue. I told them everything.

They take it all surprisingly well. Frigga is the first to respond. "Sygin, there is something you must know about Loki." She looks at Odin for help, but he doesn't look back at her. "We didn't want you to find out this way." She swallows hard, like it's hard for her to say.

"What?" I ask. "What should I know about Loki that I don't already…"

"Loki's a frost giant," Odin interrupts. He finishes quickly, "We adopted him after the war with the frost giants. I thought he might bring about some sort of peace treaty between the two races."

I'm stunned. This can't be real. "I…I don't understand," I stutter.

"You don't want to understand, Sygin." Odin says bluntly.

Frigga scolds him. "I know it's hard to believe, but you have to accept it, for your sake as well as Loki's," She says gently. "You can't tell anyone this, including Loki. It could put him in danger." I nod, finally beginning to accept it.

"You may want to go home and rest," Odin advises. "It's been a long emotional day for you, I'm sure."

Sleep sounds nice, and I'm sure how to take what Odin and Frigga just explained to me. Against my better judgement, I shake my head. "No, I want to be with Loki." They both look at me surprised. "He's my…" I pause. What is he to me? I think about it for a moment, deciding that after tonight he's more than my friend, but I'm still not happy with the marriage agreement. I ignore whatever development I might have just made. "He's my friend," I say finally, "and I want to be with him when he wakes up."

They both nod. "Of course," Frigga says.

I turn and run out the room, down the large halls, and to Loki's room. Thor is waiting by the door. "Sygin," he says surprised. He reaches for my shoulder. "What happened to Loki?" he asks genuinely.

I bite my tongue. I doubt Thor knows that Loki's a frost giant if Loki himself doesn't know. "We went to Midgard, and she was injured," I reply quickly. Thor opens his mouth to continue talking, but I open the door and slip in the room before he can say something else. I don't have time for him.

The procedure must have ended. Loki is lying on a white bed with his chest dressed in bandages. His eyes are closed, and his arms are resting peacefully by his side. He's asleep. I selfishly think that maybe I should wake him up, but decide against it, leaving the room. I shut the door silently behind me, trying to be a quite as possible.

"I did the same thing you just did," Thor says. He's sitting against the wall looking up at me. I sit by his side, hoping Loki will wake up soon. "What are you wearing?" He demands, lifting up my blood stained skirt.

I let out a small laugh. It feels wrong to laugh when Loki is in the next room, injured. "It's just what the women wear on Midgard." I sound tired.

"Why did you go?" He pries.

I shrug. "I don't know. He just really wanted to leave. You know how rebellious he is," I pause. "I thought that if I went with him, I could keep him from causing too much trouble." I lean my head against the cool metal wall. _Look at what a great job I did_, I tell myself mentally. I let my eyes close, starting to drift off, but I'm awakened by the sound of footsteps.

Odin and Frigga are standing in front of Thor and me. "Sygin," Frigga calls. "Odin and I have a matter to discuss with you and Loki." I nod and stand. We all enter the room except for Thor.

When we sit down, Loki's eye's flutter open, and he clears his throat. "What happened?" he asks groggily.

"You were injured on Midgard, and Sygin had the good sense to call Heimdall before you died," Frigga says angrily. "What did you think would happen if you traveled to Midgard?"

"Mother, I…" Loki starts.

"You or Sygin could have been _killed_. There's a reason your Father banned all of us from voyaging there."

Loki lets out a sigh. "I shouldn't have left, but please don't be upset with Sygin. None of this was her fault."

Odin almost growls at Loki, "Do you know what the punishment for entering Midgard is?"

The room falls silent. None of us wanting to acknowledge the truth. "Banishment," I finally answer. Looking down at my lap.

Odin speaks slowly, "Loki, all of Asgard is looking to me for guidance. How can they trust me to govern them, when I cannot control you?" Loki closes his eyes, waiting for the worst to come. "Someone has to be punished." Odin takes a deep breath. "Because of your actions today, one of you will be banished to Midgard. The length of the banishment will depend on how many people were killed in the accident. Heimdall will tell me how many people were killed tomorrow morning" He stands along with Frigga. "I'll let the two of you decide who will bear it." The two of them walk out of the room taking all the air with them.

"Damn," Loki curses. His eyes closed.

I sigh. "This isn't even a question." I get up and walk out of the room. I hear Loki say something, but the door is closed before I can make sense of it. "I'll take the punishment on myself, Odin." He had just started to walk to his room for the night.

He doesn't even move. "Thank you, Sygin." He and Frigga keep walking away. Thor looks at me confused, but I ignore him. I turn around and go back into the room.

"Sygin, what did you just do?" Loki begs. I ignore him too. Instead of answering, I walk over to the bed and kiss him. Just this once. Just to see what it's like before I leave.

* * *

I wake up to the buzz of a digital alarm clock feeling just as tired as I was the night before. Why did I have to dream? I turn over to the alarm and hit the snooze button. _Just 10 more minutes_, I think. My minds shuts down, and I get a wonderful 10 minutes worth of rest.

* * *

_Yay! Now everything makes sense, right? Again, if anything was confusing or unclear in this post just ask me about it in the reviews and I'll answer any questions in the introduction before next chapter. You probably noticed that I left out a huge chunk of the story where Sygin and Loki are in New York. At that point I decided that I was already above my average chapter length, and I didn't want to delve into something unnecessary. Next chapter will definitely be from Sygin's perspective. I got so caught up in Sygin's back story that I didn't leave room for the actual plot line. Thanks for Following/Favoriting/Reviewing! You guys are what motivates me to write._


	13. Chapter 13

_Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait! Thanks for the favorites/follows/reviews! I don't own any Marvel characters; I'm just borrowing them to do as I wish. I hope you like it!_

_Update: I saw Age of Ultron two weeks ago and it was absolutely fantastic! I always think that I get too excited for Marvel movies and eventually one will let me down, but never once has a marvel movie let me down! Seriously, don't wait to see it when the tickets are cheaper; its definitely worth full price!_

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The alarm clock goes off again, and I tear myself away from the warm bed. I look at the clock. It says its 8:15. I look around the room, trying to remember where I am. I slowly start to recall everything that happened last night. _Loki_. I look to the bed next to mine and see him lying on top of the blankets, sleeping. I sigh with relief. It's all real.

I stretch my arms above my head, trying to wake myself up. I let out a long yawn, and stand, getting out of bed. I decide to shake Loki's shoulder, trying to wake him. His eyes slowly open, and I let my lips curl up into a small smile. "Loki, we have to go," I say quietly.

He shakes his head. "What? Why?" He asks confused.

"It's a long story," I say. "We just can't let anyone know where I am. That's all." The last thing I need is a complication with S.H.I.E.L.D. Thankfully, he nods, a dazed expression on his face. He sits up in his bed, and blinks a few times, clearing the sleep from his eyes.

We slowly make our way out of the room. I leave the hotel door slightly ajar, just enough for a maid to see we've left the room. We head down to the car groggy and yawning. The frigid morning air bites at my skin, waking me up. I hold myself, trying to keep warm. Loki looks completely unaffected by the cold. I turn the heat up all the way when we get in the car. "So, where are we going?" Loki asks finally.

I pull out of the parking lot, and drive onto the empty street. "We're going to a safe house I set up a while ago. We're going to need money and other supplies if we want to travel without S.H.I.E.L.D chasing after us." At the mention of the agency, Loki flinches slightly. I ignore it, not thinking much of the odd reaction. "It's less than an hour away from here."

The temperature in the car rises quickly. _I hate the cold_, I tell myself. The warm air feels nice. I see Loki shift uncomfortable in his seat, and I realize how stupid I've been. Frost giants can become sick when exposed to heat. I reach for the thermostat, turning the temperature down. "Sorry," I say to him. "I forgot."

He looks at me confused. "Forgot what?"

I mentally curse, _Shit_. Loki still may not know he's adopted. I choose my next words very carefully. "Did you ever learn who you are?" I ask. I think that should be cryptic enough if he doesn't know, and plain enough if he does.

"I know exactly _what_ I am," he spits. "How do you know?" He has a twisted expression of disgust on his face. Loki eyes look one part enraged, and the other helpless and lost.

I swallow hard. It must be hard to take. I've had over 100 years to think about it, and I still haven't really come to any strong conclusions. I'm certain Loki hasn't had that long. I have to go about this gently. I think of what to say as I take turn onto the freeway. "Odin and Frigga told me after the accident in New York. I didn't know what had happened, and they told me to help me make sense of it."

Loki shakes his head, unsatisfied with my answer. "Why didn't you tell me?" he begs. His face drops like he's lost all energy. He isn't taking this well.

I speak without thinking about what I'm saying. "You'd just been shot. I didn't know if you were ok. There were more pressing issues, like my _banishment_. I left for Earth the next day, before I could even think to tell you," I try to explain. "You know it doesn't really mean anything, right?"

He looks away again. "I don't want to discuss it anymore." He waves his hand, dismissing the matter.

I'm completely shocked. I begin speaking without thinking again. "I'm not some servant you can boss around. I'm your friend, and I deserve to be treated with respect." I take a deep breath, "You've changed." I didn't want to admit it, but something about him is very wrong. He's been acting very weird, and I don't know what it is. Hopefully, by the time I return to Asgard everything will feel normal.

Loki shakes his head again. "You don't know me anymore," he says emptily. "You've been gone too long, Sygin. Too much has changed." His face is void of emotion. I feel lost; I  
don't know what's going on with him.

My throat burns as I choke back tears. I let go of my level-headed attitude, and decide to speak my mind without a filter. "Whatever you're hiding from me has to come out," I begin. My voice cracks as I speak. "I know you better than you think, and I've given you no reason to keep a secret from me. Whatever it is, you can tell me. It couldn't make anything worse than it is now."

Loki continues to stare out the window to his right, avoiding looking in my direction. I take an exit that seems to lead to nowhere. The safe house is less than 15 minutes away, but I refuse to stop the car until I get an answer. We go a solid five minutes in silence before he decides to reply. "You don't know what I've done," Loki says coolly. He doesn't sound remorseful or sad. He doesn't sound upset in anyway, but he does say it with certainty. A sudden chill runs through my body, and I realize I'm scared to know the truth.

"Sooner or later, I _will_ learn the truth," I respond, telling myself more than him. I don't want to press the issue. What if he's done something terrible? I can't get the thought out of my head. My stomach sinks with the weight of my worries.

I drive onto the gravel of what looks like an abandoned hiking trail, and park. There isn't an area on the ground that doesn't look like it's over run with brush. Trees stand tall above the car slightly bowing in the wind. Flocks of birds are in the trees preparing to fly south for the winter. I leave take the keys out of the ignition and leave the car. Loki follows as I walk among the golden trees for what seems like an eternity. In reality it's only about a five minute hike, but I have so much on my mind.

Eventually, we find a small cabin in the midst of a yellowing field. This place is beautiful in the summer, but right now it's depressing. The tall grass reminds me too much of the day we left for New York. I put it in the back of my mind once again, but it never _really_ leaves completely.

I walk to a nearby tree and twist a knot in the truck to reveal a secret compartment with a key inside. It's not exactly high-tech, but I've never had a problem with anyone trying to get into the safe house before.

The cabin has a window on the front and back of the house to let a breeze flow through should it be needed in the summer. The door is relatively small and has chipping green paint. I slide the key into the lock, and the door scratches the floor as it opens into the quaint building. The cabin only has one room, but I made excellent use of the space when I built it. There are two beds on either side of the room with a stove-top oven, microwave, and sink against the back wall. Dressers are standing by the sides of either bed. A worn, light pink couch is in the center of the small area facing a TV that looks like it came straight form the 90's (which it did). The dressers have everything I could need to stay here for up to 2 months. I have plenty of canned goods and access to a water pump just outside. A generator is hooked up to the cabin to provide electricity when it's needed. There's over five thousand dollars hidden under a floor plank, along with paperwork for new identification if I found I needed to run again. I even have a few board games hidden away in here.

I've had this cabin since the 20's. It's the closest thing I have to a home. "Here we are," I say coldly. I'm trying to let go of the argument we had earlier. Loki's been through a lot, and I should keep that in mind. It's hard to do that, though, when I'm hurting too. I want more than anything for things to go back to normal.

I start to go through the cabinets to prepare a breakfast for the two of us, it's been a while since I had a real meal. I don't even want to think about it. I grab the ingredients for oatmeal with raisons and stick a big bowl of it in the microwave. The silence is maddening, so I decide to try to break the ice. "We're going to have to spend the night here to be sure we weren't followed," I pause, waiting to see if Loki has something to say. He doesn't. "That should us plenty of time to talk, considering it's only 9." He nods.

If Loki didn't want to be here with me, he could have left at any point. It doesn't take much to call Heimdall, but Loki hasn't done it yet. He _must_ want to fix this as much as I do. I can't help but sigh in relief as I make this realization. We can fix it. It'll just take a while. I swallow my pride, and try my best to get _something_ going.

"We're going to be here for quite a while," I begin, "I could show you some of the popular Midgard games I've learned."

Loki perks up. "I would enjoy that," he says with a smile.

Within the next 10 minutes we each have a bowl of oatmeal, and we're sitting on a bed with Operation in between us. I grab the tweezers to show him. "The object of the game is simple," I state with a devilish smile. "All you have to do is get an item out of his body without touching the tweezers to the board." I reach down to grab "spare ribs" very carefully. I pull them out slowly without a mistake, and drop the item in my hand. "See? Easy." I can't help but smile.

I hold out the tweezers to Loki. He takes them with a raised eyebrow, but accepts the game in all its simplicity. He reaches down to take hold of "butterflies in stomach", not even trying to avoid touching the board. The game lets out a shrill _BZZZ_, and Loki immediately jumps back, dropping the tweezers on the bed. The temperature drops by what feels like 20 degrees and the tweezers have been frosted over. When Loki finally exhales, I can see his breath.

I start to giggle. The small giggle turns to loud laughter, and the laughter eventually turns to an all-out cackle. Loki joined in right after I initially started to laugh. The tension in the room melts so quickly we hardly remember it was there in the first place. It feels exactly the same way it did when we were children, before we had to deal with any of this. Who knew that all it took to fix everything was a good old game of Operation. Eventually, the laughter dies down, and we're left smiling at each other like dimwits. I don't know what to say. I don't want to ruin the moment.

Loki is the first to speak, "I apologize for the way I acted earlier." We both grow somber as he continues. "I was wrong. You are one of the few people I can trust. I should have treated you with the respect and dignity you deserve." He grabs my hand. "I know it isn't an excuse, but I've caused much trouble recently. Knowing I have to tell you is like bearing the weight of the universe on my shoulders," he finishes quietly. Loki looks down into his lap, his eyes full of sadness.

In the heat of the moment, I stretch across the board, and kiss him before I can change my mind. At first he seems shocked, but after a moment, he kisses back, holding my face. It's different than the last time. Other than the fact that the last time we kissed was over one hundred years ago, it feels different because I'm not sad; I'm elated. After years and years of waiting, I finally get to be with him in a way I never was before. It's exhilarating.

We kiss for a while before I finally pull away. I say softly, "I love you, Loki. Whatever you did, I'm sure we can work through it together. We can fix it," my voice is steady and solid, like a rock. I _know _my words are true. We can fix it.

Loki gives a small nod, and breathes out almost all of the air in his lungs. "I don't know where to start." My confidence wanes, beginning to be replaced with doubt. I hope my doubt is misplaced, that we are both being over-dramatic, but, for some reason, I can't shake the feeling that he's done something terrible.

"Just start at beginning. What lead up to whatever it is you've done?" My voice is slightly shaky now. Why am I so nervous?

Loki breathes out once again. "A few Earth years ago, Thor was about to be crowned king of Asgard. While you were gone, our relationship deteriorated. He grew into a bigger miserable oaf than he was before you left. I couldn't stand it. Of the two of us, why should he be the future king? I came into contact with a group of frost giants, and together we devised a plan to ruin Thor's crowning ceremony…" Loki continues on for what seems like an eternity, confiding in me every single thing he's done. About halfway into his retelling, I'm crying. I try to contain myself, but I'm so shaken. Tears silently stream down my face. The longer he speaks the easier it is for him to say and the harder it is for me to hear. By the time he finishes, I want to vomit. How can he ruin things so badly? My stomach feels as if it's filled with one thousand rocks, weighing me down.

I don't speak until he's finished. "So, you're secretly ruling Asgard, and nobody knows about it? Not anyone?" My voice trembles as I choke out the question. I'm sure my face is puffy from crying.

"Only a small group of guards," he replies. "I couldn't have come to Midgard without their assistance. They're easily bribed, and no one suspects a thing." Loki says it with a hint of pride that makes my stomach churn. I look down at the oatmeal that's still in my hands, untouched. I put it on the floor, no longer wanting to eat, appetite ruined.

"Where is Odin now?" I ask much more hurt than I was intending. "He's still your father-"

"No!" Loki interrupts, clearly upset. "He's nothing to me. He took me as a spoil of war. I'm nothing but a trophy to him." I shake my head, refusing to look him in the eyes. He's ruined everything. I can't possibly fix it. The certainty I had earlier this morning has disappeared.

I'm in love with a sociopath.

"How can I fix things, Sygin?" Loki asks almost innocently. 'I know my decisions were wrong; how can I fix it?"

I almost laugh. "You can't." The emotion has left my words, leaving my voice stale. "You've caused far too much trouble for anything to go back to normal. Especially now that Frigga is dead and you decided to keep Odin locked away somewhere." I rack my brain for some sort of solution. I can only think of two options. "Loki, you can either bring Odin back and run before they can catch you, or you can leave things like they are, and hope that no one discovers you. Either way, nothing will ever be the way it used to."

"What about hope or love or something like that?" Loki pleads, the life draining from his eyes. "You were always the one who fixed things. You could always get us out of trouble. You always found a way."

I try my best to fight back the tears behind my eyes. He feels remorseful, but for the wrong reasons. I want desperately to fix things, I do, but I can't. If there was anything I could think of, I'd do it, but Loki has done too many horrible things without thinking. My first plan was to take the full banishment on my shoulders, and we could be together again after three hundred years. Loki couldn't follow through with the last plan, why should I believe he could follow through with a new one. He's too destructive. I finally let the tears through my eyes. They fall mercilessly on the bed.

I can't help but feel responsible. Maybe if I'd just been there, I could have stopped all of this from happening. Maybe I could have talked some sense into him. Maybe I could have interfered before he carried through with his plans. Maybe. I'm here _now_ though. I can keep things from getting worse. Whatever Loki plans in the future, I can minimize the casualties. I know what I'm going to do now. No matter what, I'm staying with Loki to keep him and everyone else save.

I finally look up at Loki. I push his greasy hair out of his eyes and say finally, "We'll figure something out."

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_I hope you liked this chapter. Sygin now knows everything that Loki's done if that wasn't clear. I hope this seems like a realistic reaction. The next chapter will either be from Thor's perspective, I think. Let me know what you think in the reviews. It helps motivate me to write! :D_


	14. Chapter 14

_Hey guys! Sorry for such a long wait. I've decided I HATE writing from Thor's perspective. Honestly, I don't have the vocabulary for it. Anyway, I've had writer's block for a while so here you go. I thought if I just posted the chapter I could move on and work on a chapter I was excited to work on. I took some liberties with this chapter, but I hope you still like it!_

_I don't own any marvel characters _

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**Thor**

Coulson enters his office to find me, waiting for him to initiate the search for Sygin. I'm sitting in a small chair just in front of his desk. Coulson looks taken aback at first, but he quickly regains his composure. "Sorry for the wait, Thor. Skye's team is chasing a lead for the Sam case, and they were giving me a progress report." The balding man walks round his office dark office, organizing various papers and sorting files. He looks rather flustered. "Should we get started then?"

"Yes," I reply. "_Finally_ starting the search for Sygin would be best at this time." I sound somewhat snide, but I'm sure the son of Coul doesn't think much of it. "She's been living in this realm for exactly 126 Earth years. Surely you have some sort of documentation of her whereabouts."

Coulson shakes his head. "Easier said than done, my friend." He takes a seat across from me at his desk, tapping a few glowing lights on it, activating something. "Because Sygin has been on Earth for such a long time, I think it's safe to assume she's moved a few times and probably had a few identity changes. Living an immortal life surrounded by mortals would definitely not be easy, to say the least." He finishes tapping into the lights on his desk, and a white wall falls slowly from the ceiling. Light it projected onto the wall to show some sort of file. "Is there anything different about Sygin, besides the fact that she's an Asgardian? The more information we have on her, the more quickly we can identify her."

I immediately think of Sygin's unique magical talent. Her powers caused quite the uproar on Asgard. She was made to look like a gift sent from Valhalla among the peasants. The abilities she possess naturally, usually take my people centuries to master. She developed the talent to near perfection in a matter of years. "She has the ability to manipulate the will of another to obey her own. Her powers, as you call them, have an especially high regard in my realm."

Coulson nods. "Perfect. We've made a list of every person with powers that we're aware of. We call it the Index. If Sygin's powers are really that good, she should be one of the people on there." Coulson presses the light son his desk once more, and the light on the white wall changes to what appears to be a list of names. "I'm going to show you a picture of someone with the powers of manipulation on the screen, and you tell me if they look familiar." I nod. The task before me seems simple enough.

The son of Coul then proceeds to put a face on the screen I do not recognize. "Next," I say firmly. A new picture arrives on the screen; the face looks nothing like Sygin. I shake my head. This continues in what seems like futility for a full 5 minutes before Coulson decides to speak.

While changing the pictures consistently, Coulson says, "If you don't mind me asking, why was Sygin banished here?" I let out a heavy breath. It has been such a hard topic to discuss for such a long time that it feels wrong to speak of, but, now that Loki is gone, it shouldn't affect things too much if I tell Coulson of the occurrence.

"Like I told Lady Romanoff, Sygin was once a friend to my brother. They often spent time together. One mid-day they decided to travel to the realm of Midgard which my father forbade. Loki was wounded during their excursion, and his frost giant magic had killed many people. He created a storm that I believe your people still call the blizzard of 1888. When the two returned home, my father judged that it would be best to banish one of them to show the realm that nothing was above his law. Sygin had decided she would be the one to go." I continue to speak without realizing it. The words fall easily from my mouth. "Loki had killed over 300 people, and Sygin was to be banished for the number of deaths they had caused. Something, though, has changed recently in the Allfather. I believe my mother and brother's deaths have had a large impact on him. He has already entered the Odin's sleep. He's been weakened severely. I have no doubt Odin is revoking Sygin's banishment in an attempt to make up for the wrong-doings of my brother." I cease to talk, recalling who I'm speaking with. "I apologize. I did not mean to speak for so long, son of Coul."

Coulson gives a small chuckle. "It's actually just Coulson. My father's name wasn't Coul. And, it's fine. It's fascinating to hear about Asgard. We must seem so primitive to you Gods."

"Only a fairly." I turn back to look at Coulson with a smile. "In all honesty, your world is progressing far more quickly than mine ever has. I don't think it will take very long for-" I stop mid-sentence to gather my thoughts. The previous picture had looked very much like Sygin. "Go back." Coulson obeys and switches to the previous face. She is _definitely_ Sygin. "That's her."

Coulson looks slightly disappointed. He shakes his head in a motion. "That's going to be a problem, Thor." I must have a look of confusion, because Coulson explains. "This is the same girl we've been trying to find since you came. She's Sam." The truth of the situation hits me.

"Was she made aware of my arrival to the realm?" I question the director.

Coulson responds quickly, "I'm sure she must have heard it in the rush to find you."

I nod. "My father also forbade Sygin from contact with any Asgardian. She would have left as soon as she heard I was to return with your agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"So, she isn't hostile?"

"Not at all. Sygin was always quite timid."

Coulson accepts my answer. "Do you know where she is now?"

I shake my head. "I don't know. I came to S.H.I.E.L.D. to seek assistance." I stop speaking for a moment to think. "I had caught Loki giving Sygin a white jewel before her departure. The gem is like an Earth tracking device." I say the word oddly. It feels foreign on my tongue. Earth's words are extremely strange. "If I were to find the signal, I could potentially locate her. However, building a device with only midgardian materials could take hours. I am not very skilled with technology."

"That's great, Thor!" Coulson rises out of his seat in excitement. "Regardless of how long it would take, we finally have a way to locate Sam-err I mean Sygin." He pushes a few buttons onto what I've learned is called a telephone. "Why don't you head down to the lab to build the device with Fitzsimmons. I'll call Skye to let her know that Sam is Sygin. We'll find her as soon as possible, Thor." Coulson smiles confidently. He lifts the communication mechanism to his ear, and I take my leave.

It takes me a small while, but I locate the science lab eventually. A small man and short woman are sitting in the room talking. Upon my entry, they both jump with wide eyes. "Thor, what are you doing here?" The woman speaks, her accent is almost identical to mine. I feel slightly more inclined to trust her. "You're supposed to be with Coulson. Do you need help finding his room?"

I shake my head. "No. Phil Coulson sent me here to begin a project with the two of you." Impossibly, the pair's eyes grow wider in shock. I hold back a laugh. It is pleasing to see the reactions of the Midgardians. "Sygin was given a device that behaves much like an Earth cellphone. We must develop a mechanism to track the signal." The pair look to each other, looking daunted by the task. Eventually the woman steps forward to assist me.

"We'd be honored to help you, Thor." The woman looks back to the male, searching for reassurance. "I'm afraid I don't know much about Asgardian technology, but I'll try to help as much as possible." She gives an unsure smile, then outstretches her hand, "I'm Gemma, by the way." I take her hand and shake it briefly. The abnormality of human customs is strange to witness. Gemma motions to the man sitting in a chair, fiddling with some strange metal instruments, "And this is Fitz."

I nod to the both of them. "Well then, we should begin, quickly." I look around the small laboratory, searching for familiar items. Sadly, there are none to be found. "Do you have access to hematite?"

"What?" Gemma asks, quizzically.

"It's a common Asgardian mineral, a strong magical conductor in most technologies. Can I gain access to a sample of it?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not familiar with this element. Maybe there's a different term for it-"

Fitz quickly stands from his seat. "I know this." He is snapping his fingers rapidly which is mildly annoying, but I ignore it. His eyes are squeezed shut, trying to recall something. "Errggh!" He shouts. "I **know** this!" With a sudden flash of relief and excitement, the man's eyes open and he points to Gemma and I. "Iron (III) Oxide!" He's smiling wildly.

"Fitz, that's fantastic! You're a genius!" Gemma chimes. "We can easily get some Iron (III) Oxide within the next half hour. I'm pretty sure we have some stored in the basement, somewhere." She searches through a few drawers before pulling out a key. "If you'll both follow me," She opens a door in the back of the room that leads to a metal stairway.

I hear a loud bang near on the far side of the building just as Gemma begins walking down the flight with Fitz. They both turn to look back at me. "You two go retrieve the hematite. I'll go investigate." I grab my hammer, and run past glass doors without looking back at them. I soon can hear sounds of battle taking place near the entrance to the building.

As I run to aid in whatever way I can, the windows in front of me shatter. Warriors in black suits and helmets drop on the floor, holding large guns. Without a second thought, I immediately swing my hammer down on the helmet of the nearest one. They fall violently on the floor. I waste no time in attacking the next who attacks me with a small bolt of lightning. As they fall, I notice an emblem on their shoulder. I looks like a skull with tentacles growing out of the bottom.

I keep fighting the attackers, who manage to graze my right side with a bullet. Just after it happens, I see Lady Mai and Coulson run down the hallway with guns in their hands. They kill the rest of the group. "It's Hydra!" Coulson yells over to me. "We have to get everyone to the Bus. We're in no shape to fight them off." He and Mai stop abruptly in front of me. "Where's Fitzsimons?" He pants.

"I left them in the lab."

Coulson turns to Mai, "Go get the Bus. I'll get the kids." Mai nods and runs off, gun in hand. Coulson turns back to me, "Let's go."

We make it to the lab in no time. Coulson watches for Hydra agents while I run to the basement. I find the two scientists wandering around with a small box, oblivious to the mess above. "Thor!" Gemma calls. "We found the hematite! Now what-"

I cut her off. "We have to get to the Airplane now. Hydra is attacking, and Coulson wishes for us to leave." I point to Fitz. "Don't lose the hematite." They both run up the stairs with worried expressions.

Coulson leads them down the halls while I watch the rear. About ¾ of the way to plane, more Hydra agents attack us. We defeat the first few with ease, but soon there are too many to fight and protect Fitzsimmons. "Run!" I shout over the noise of guns and grunting. "I'll take care of it." The Trio runs down the remainder of the hallway to the garage. I wait for them to leave before I send a burst of electricity down the halls, cutting off the power. Nobody in the hallway survived as far as I can tell, and I run as fast as possible to the plane.

I barely make it, having to fly through the closing door as the plane begins to speed off down the runway. The agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. are waiting for me at the mini bar. "What was that?" I ask.

* * *

_So, first I'd like to say I don't know what the hell hematite is. I just needed some type of mineral that had a cool name and an easy-to-pronounce atomic makeup. Second, I don't know how to pronounce Iron (III) Oxide. Is it Iron third oxide? Is it Iron three oxide? I don't know. Third, I have written this chapter probably 7 times, before I said f**k it. I didn't even re-read it once. I'm absolutely sick of this chapter. I apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors._

_I also want to say, I have the end of the fic all figured out. It could be anywhere from 3-8 more chapter long. :D I'm super excited. Chapter's should be coming quickly because I'm at my dad's house now. Thanks for Following/Favoriting/Reviewing! Love you guys! _


	15. Chapter 15

_Hey guys! Like I said, I will be writing a lot more because I'm at my dad's house. Not to mention, I've been MIA for the past to months. I thought about maybe waiting to post this next week, but I decided against it. Hope you like it._

_I don't own any marvel characters or concepts._

* * *

I tried to forget the conversation Loki and I had at the safe house. I introduced new games to him, and even tried to talk about my life on Midgard, but I couldn't get the sinking feeling out of my stomach. To compensate I withdrew from Loki quite a bit. I pulled away whenever he touched me. I was short with him when we talked. I even walked to the opposite side of the room when he talked. I'm sure my actions didn't go unnoticed.

That night, when I was sure that Loki was asleep, I went outside to sit in the cool night air. Yellowing grass rose well above my face, but the silvery moonlight shone down on me. I pulled my knees to my chest and cried as silently as I could. I guess I eventually I fell asleep, because I awoke this morning with Loki shaking my shoulder to make sure I was okay. I assured him I was fine, and I grabbed all the money to so we could leave.

We arrived at the Cleveland airport after a short while. I bought tickets to the Toronto airport. Loki had asked me to show him some of my favorite locations on Earth, and I plan on doing it. I've decided the quickest way I can get over my conversation with Loki is to find new things to think about. Toronto was one of my most favorite places to live. I've missed it. One of the rules I made for myself while I've been on Midgard is to never live in the same place twice. If I tried to, I'd eventually run into somebody who might recognize me. I've learned this the hard way.

We start walking towards security when I'm blocked by a man and woman wearing matching flower-print shirts and khaki shorts. _Tourists_.

"Excuse me," the man begins, ruffling his handlebar mustache as he speaks, "I couldn't help but over hearing that you two are going to Canada." He talks with a heavy Canadian accent. _Oh no_, I think. "We were visiting Cleveland for the week, and now we're going back to Canada. Well, it seems we're going to be on the same flight. Would you mind if walked with you?"

"I'm Deborah, by the way." The woman sticks out her hand. I take it, and give a firm shake. She's much stronger than I would have expected her to be. She motions to the man. "And this is Mark." I shake his arm as well, and find that he's also fairly strong. _That's odd_. The both smile at me much too cheerily.

"I'm Sam," I say in a small voice. "And this is L-" I catch myself about to say Loki, but think better of it, "Lars." I stare at the pair of them for a moment and notice, they're both abnormally muscular. Scars line their skin on their arms and legs, and I begin to doubt these people are who they say they are. I immediately think of S.H.I.E.L.D. No doubt they found me. "We actually were trying to get refunds for or tickets. Unfortunately, they weren't very understanding. We were just about to leave." I give them my best apologetic smile. I pull Loki towards the exit. "It was nice meeting you!"

We speed-walk through the glass doors, trying to get away from the pair. "We need to get to the car _now_," I say harshly. I lead him to the parking garage where we planned on leaving the car.

"I thought we were traveling to Canada," Loki says confused. "Who were those people?"

"Agents… I think." I say quickly. Loki nods in understanding. We turn the corner and see two men in black clothes standing by the SUV. "Shit," I murmur under my breath. I look behind us to see that the supposed tourist couple are looking around outside for us. I act quickly. "Freeze where you are," I shout at the men by the car. They turn to look at us, unaffected. "I said _freeze where you are_." That seems to have worked; the men stop moving immediately. I begin to run to the car. "Come on," I tell Loki. We run to the car holding hands. I'm breathing heavily, already exhausted from so much movement. I'm completely out of shape.

I hear a gunshot that narrowly misses my right arm, and immediately turn around to face who fired at us. It the couple we saw earlier. The woman is holding a silver gun that has blue lights on it. She shoots before I have time to process it. I immediately move in front of Loki. I will **not** let him be shot again. I feel a small prick in the small of my back. My eyes grow blurry, and my legs feel like they've disappeared. I collapse attempting to stay conscience, but my efforts are futile. My eyes close, and I fall into oblivion.

* * *

My eyes flutter open, and I immediately sit up. _Where am I_? I've been laying on a metal table with my hands forward, handcuffed to the table. There's a bright light shining above me, and a two-way mirror across from me. It looks like I'm in a police station, but I'm fairly certain I'm not. "Hello," I yell at the mirror. "I'm awake! What do you want?"

A man in a blue suit walks into the room. "Hello Samantha," he says coolly. He has an English accent, and walks like he runs the world. "I'm Sunil Bakshi. Recently, the agency I work for has discovered that you possess very unique and desirable abilities." I roll my eyes, and I see a small smile curl on his lips. "I'll cut to the chase. We'd like to offer you a job here. You're exactly what we need."

"Is this why you kidnapped me the first time?" I try to be coy. My best chance to get out of here with Loki is to prove that I won't be any trouble for these people. "I thought S.H.I.E.L.D. was supposed to be good."

"Ha!" Bakshi laughs. "You believe I work for S.H.I.E.L.D! They're a joke! I work for a much larger, much more competent agency. We're called Hydra." I flinch feeling as if I've heard the name somewhere before. "I can tell you S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't much of an agency now. You'd be a fool to side with them." He speaks as if he knows he's won me over.

"What've you done with the man I was with?"

"He's being held in cell. In the event that you are uncooperative, he should provide fantastic incentive." He smiles devilishly.

"Well, I'd be happy to help you in your efforts to do whatever it is you're doing, but I don't use my gifts except in emergencies." I sit back in my chair. I just need to bide my time until I can see a way to get out of here.

"Why don't we give you an excuse to use them then?" He whistles a shrill noise. Almost immediately a guard dressed in black walks in holding the arm of a woman with a burlap sack on her head. "Press your gun to her head," Bakshi commands the guard, not taking his eyes off of me. The guard points the gun at the woman without a second thought. I hear her whimper and begin to cry under the cover. "You have three seconds before this man kills this woman. You choose." Bakshi clasps his hands together, as if to say, _go ahead, make your choice_. "Three…" Bakshi begins to count down.

I don't even hesitate. "_Lower your weapon_," I say sternly. The guard slowly lowers his weapon to his side. "_Let her go_." The man lets go of her arm, and the woman moves to the opposite corner of the room, removing the sac as she gallops. An idea comes to mind. "_Point your gun at the man in the blue suit_," I say with gravel in my throat. Bakshi smiles, as if impressed by the move. The man begins to point his gun at Bakshi, but the weapon is out of his hands before it can get within a foot of Bakshi's head. The woman who I thought was in danger kicked it out of the guard's hands. She punches the guard square in the jaw, and he falls to the floor. She hands the gun to Bakshi. She must have been working for them all along.

"You see Samantha," he taunts, "there's nothing you can do to get out of this. I'll let my offer sit with you for a while. After that, if you still aren't willing to comply, we have other ways of getting on our side." He points the gun at the man on the floor, and fires. Bakshi then leaves the room with the woman behind him.

* * *

_How'd you like it? I hope adding Bakshi made it interesting, at least. The next chapter will be from someone other than Sygin's perspective. I haven't quite decided yet. Thanks for Favoriting, reviewing, and Following! You guys make it more fum to write. _


	16. Chapter 16

_Hey guys its me again! Guess what? I'm actually posting on Sunday! Yay for punctuality! SO this chapter has a lot of dialogue in it. I hope that's okay. Go ahead and read!_

_I don't own an Marvel characters._

* * *

**Natasha**

The call from Coulson came just after we lost Sam's trail. We'd tracked her all the way to a hotel near the run down storage unit. Skye, Clint, and I had all agreed it most definitely was her. The Hotel manager was adamantly upset that someone was giving a keycard to one of his hotel rooms without paying. Not to mention the hotel footage showed someone who looked a lot like Sam walking in without paying.

We saw that Sam was traveling with someone too. The footage unfortunately wasn't clear enough to determine who by a long shot. We could tell it was a man by the physique and clothes, but they never did looked at the camera. This was bad news. Having already found someone to travel with probably meant she planned it all. I don't know how yet, but that's what my instincts were telling me anyway. Maybe the guy just gave me and Clint a bad feeling. I got a wrenching feeling on my gut every time I looked at the video.

Eventually, we found their car in an airport parking lot. Skye checked for footage in the airport, but there was none from yesterday. The video had been deleted. We already knew that that must have been the day Sam came to the airport. Without anything else to go on, Clint went over the footage of the previous day just in case.

While he did that, Skye and I went through the car to see if we could find anything of use. Skye looked up front while I had the middle section. Barton sat in the trunk looking at Skye's computer. After we'd looked for a solid five minutes for anything at this point, Skye got the call from Coulson.

Turns out Sam's real name is Sygin, and she's the girl Thor's been looking for. As soon as I heard the news I rolled my eyes. _Of course it couldn't be a normal mission_, I thought to myself. _Things always turned weird when S.H.I.E.L.D. was involved_. Apparently we are supposed to meet back at Headquarters as soon as possible. I guess they've found a new way to track her. After a while Skye handed the phone to me. "He wants to talk to you." Skye offered me the phone, and I take it, walking several feet away so Skye and Clint would have to strain to eavesdrop.

"Hello?"

"Hey! How's Skye doing? Is she handing everything okay? Is she making good decisions for the group?" I smile, but not until I'm sure Skye and Clint aren't looking. You can tell Coulson genuinely cares so much for Skye. After the whole Hydra thing last year, I know she's pushed to become a real agent. Mai's been training her at least 18 hours a week. Everyone had their problems after Hydra attacked, but apparently this guy, Ward, did a number on Skye especially. I never met him personally, but he sounds like quite the asshole. Coulson just wants to see Skye do well. He wants to see his team heal.

"Nothing's gone necessarily wrong per say," I start, "though I'd appreciate it if you could tell Barton to stop trying to teach people how to fly." That got a chuckle out of the director. "In all honesty, we're working together well, and doing all the right things. It's just the nature of the mission that sucks. We haven't made any _real_ progress, and it's starting to hit, I think."

"When you three get back here, would it be smart to keep her as the head of the project? Mai and I have some other things we are going to be handling," he explains.

"I think it'd be an excellent choice. She's smart, and resourceful. And she's got three-times the motivation."

I Coulson gives a small sigh. "That's a relief," he breathes. I hear something crash through the phone. It sounds like glass breaking, but I can't really tell through the static. "Shit!" Coulson yells through the phone, into my ear.

"What?" I ask, trying to keep my cool. "Coulson, what's happening?" I hear another crash.

"It's Hydra." Coulson says quickly. "They're in the building. Don't come back to headquarters. I call you as soon as this is taken care of." The phone clicks, and I know he's ended the call.

"There's been a change of plan," I turn back to Skye and Barton. "Hydra's invaded the base. We've been told to stay here and await further orders." The two of them have dropped jaws; no doubt worried for the rest of the team. I hand the phone back to Skye.

"How'd Hydra get in?" Skye asks.

"I have no idea. I just heard glass break. Coulson seemed pretty surprised though."

"What do we do now?" Skye prods.

"Whatever you think is best." I answer back.

"Right," Skye says nervously. "Maybe we could try to relax until we get new information. We could go to a restaurant or something. We didn't really get breakfast this morning."

"I'm fine with whatever," Clint says distantly. He isn't paying much attention to the conversation. His eyes are fixed on the taillight of some car, as he's lost in thought. I try to imagine what's going on in his head. Of course he's thinking of Coulson and the team, but something else is there too. I don't know what.

"Truthfully I'd rather get back to the Quinn Jet," I admit, sensing that nobody really wanted to go out. "I don't think we could eat while we know that the team is trying to survive _another_ Hydra attack, though there's plenty of food in the jet of we need it. I want to be able to leave at a moment's notice if we have to, as well." Skye nods, seemingly relieved that I offered the option.

"Let's get back." Clint agrees.

We get to the jet within 15 minutes. We didn't land it far from the airport coincidently. The trip was completely silent, none of us willing to take our minds off of the team back at headquarters. Clint, who usually tries to put on some kind of music while we're driving, put the speakers on mute as soon as we got in the car. It was an agonizing drive.

Eventually Skye breaks the prolonged silence. "I'm sure they're fine. They have Thor with them as if Mai wasn't enough to hold them off." She laughs nervously at her attempt at a joke. Clint gives her an encouraging smile.

The phone rings and we all jump out of our seats. Skye quickly answers. "Coulson?" She puts it on speakerphone.

"Yeah, it's me." I hadn't noticed I was holding my breath, but when I hear Coulson voice I silently gasp for air. "Are you all safe?" he inquires.

"We're fine," Skye answers shortly. "What about you? Is everyone all right? Where are you?" She seems tenser than before Coulson even called.

"Nobody was hurt." The groups seems to relax a little at his words. "We're heading up to the Koenigs' base up in Canada. Hydra completely demolished headquarters, so we'll be based up there for a while. I need you three to get up here as soon as possible. We have some things to talk about, a lot of it I can't discuss over the phone. Get up there as soon as possible."

The phone clicks, and we don't hesitate to get moving. We take off within 3 minutes. The Canada base isn't far from where we're stationed. We get there by noon.

Koenig (I don't care which one it is at this point) didn't even try to fiddle with identification. He let us walk right in to see Coulson, Thor, and the rest of the team waiting for us, all lounging out. Skye runs forward to hug Coulson, and slowly makes her way around to the rest of the group.

"What happened back there?" Clint asks.

"Hydra raided the place," Mai says. "I caught them trying to download something. I pulled the plug before they got too much information, but they did get a copy of the Index. We got out of there before anything else could happen. Well, not without a hostage that is." Mai has a devilish smile on her face.

"Turns out, this specific Hydra agent isn't as keen on killing himself as the others have been," Coulson says. "We've managed to discover that Hydras been after people on the Index. They're trying to recruit them or something. The hydra agent also let spill the location of one of their bases. We've all agreed that it would be in our best interest to terminate the base as soon as possible. Thor said he'd help us if necessary. A soon as this is taken care of, all of our attention will be put back on finding Sygin." Thor nods. Everyone looks like they're ready to go.

"Let's get going then," I grin, ready to kick some Hydra ass.

* * *

_I love Natasha, don't you? Hope you liked the chapter! Did you notice Koenig's small appearance? :D _

_Next chapter is from Sygin's perspective. I'll probably post that on a sunday as well, if not sooner! Thanks for Following/Favoriting/Reviewing! I love you guys! _


	17. Chapter 17

_It's__ been another Sunday, my beloved followers! Here, have another chapter on me. :D_

_I don't own any Marvel Characters or concepts._

* * *

I spit out blood as I'm hit with yet another punch to the stomach. It lands on one of my abusers pants. "_Stop_," I command to no avail. Bakshi stuck me in a cell with two hooligans over an hour ago. I over hear him tell them to beat me until further notice. I've been trying to yell loud enough so they would hear me, but they can't. I assume they have ear plugs. Or, their one and only desire in life is to beat me shitless. Either way, the pain is making stops appear in my sight. It feels like I've been in the room for an eternity. I don't know what they're doing; I just want it to stop.

"That's enough." I hear a door crack open, light flooding into the dim room. It's Bakshi. "You two can go," he says as he motions towards the door.

"_What do you want_?" I question, enraged.

He taps his ear to tell me he can't hear what I'm saying. "You didn't tell me your boyfriend has ice powers," he mentions plainly.

"_Leave him alone_!" I cry. I feel so violated. Bakshi can do whatever he wants to me, but he needs to leave Loki out of this.

Bakshi smiles, knowing that he got a strong reaction. "I'd like to have a conversation with you. I need you to know if you pull any stunts, my men won't hesitate to kill him." I give him a small nod. He pulls the two ear plugs out of his ears. "That's much better," he starts. He pulls out a red button. "If you try to manipulate me, I _will _press this button, and your boyfriend _will _die."

"What do you want to talk about?" I ask, trying to keep my emotions under control.

"I'd like for you to tell some new recruits to follow my every order. Can you be accommodating long enough for that to work?"

"My powers don't work like that," I reply. "They'll only obey for so long. Not to mention, my powers affect everyone differently. The stronger the resolve of a person, the less likely they are to comply." I try to stall for time. I need to find a way out of here.

"Comply," he says thoughtfully. "Do you mind if I use that?" he asks playfully. It sets my teeth on edge. Bakshi must see the disgust on my face because he looks at me seriously, "What do you mean it affects everyone differently?"

"My powers are based on the desires of others. If I ask them to do something they want to do, they should have no problem doing it. If I ask them to do something they're dead-set against doing, they can be resistant or not listen at all."

"Interesting." Bakshi mutters. "Do your powers work long distance? Could I potentially take a recording of your voice and use it?"

"No," I answer. "I have to be near the person for the spell to be cast. Otherwise, it would just be a recording." There's a pause in the conversation. I take the opportunity to get some information. "Is he okay?" I ask, carefully keeping the magic from my voice.

"We have no reason to harm him, unless you don't cooperate. Though, there are a few scientist dying to get their hands on him. I'm keeping them at bay for now." A crash echoes through the halls outside. Bakshi looks back at the door, annoyed. "If you'll excuse me…" he walks out of the door.

A few moments' later sirens are blaring, and a red light flashes in my room. _What the hell_, I think. The cell door flies open, and I take the chance to escape. There's mass chaos in the hallways. Other prisoners are running rampant, most heading for the exit on the far side of the hall. _I have to find Loki_, I remind myself. I run in the opposite direction, occasionally bumping into people.

I check a few cells, but none of them have any trace of Loki. I have no idea where he is. I turn a strange corner, and find myself in an office-looking area of the building. _No! This isn't where I'm supposed to be_, I chide. I turn back around but a flying red mass knocks me flat on my back. After a loud groan, I stand up and wipe myself off. I try to identify what hit me.

"Sygin?" It's Thor. _Shit_. _No, no, no_. _How can I get to Loki now_?

"Thor?" I question, trying to play dumb. He can't know that Loki's alive, much less here.

He barrels forward and grabs me. I'm sure it's meant to be a hug, but it feels like he's trying to crush me. "Sygin, it's been far too long." He smiles widely, setting me down.

"Why are you here? You shouldn't be talking to me." I try to look concerned.

"You are to come back to Asgard immediately," he exclaims. "Odin has forgiven your crime."

I fake a grin. "What?"

"Yes, it's true. Though I don't have time to explain now. We must get you back to S.H.I.E.L.D."

I see Loki round the corner behind Thor's back, eyes wide. He sees me, and seems to relax, but the moment is short lived. Upon seeing Thor, Loki takes a few steps back around the wall until I can only see his face.

"Why do you need to take me to S.H.I.E.L.D.?" I say loud enough for Loki to hear. He seems to get the message.

"Because they have agreed to aid in my search for you. And, as I've come to understand it, you are a criminal in their eyes. It would be good for them to see your true intentions." I smile at Thor encouragingly.

_How_, Loki mouths. He means to ask how we will find one another again. I reach up and tap on my communicator necklace. He give a small nod. He changes his appearance to look like an escaped prisoner, and runs in the opposite direction.

"Lead the way, Thor."

We bolt through the building, my legs burning. After we spend what seems like a lifetime running, we finally find a group of three agents. I recognize Skye and the red-head (though I don't remember her name) but I don't remember seeing the man with arrows before. They look at Thor then to me their eyes full of shock.

"She was here the whole time?" The man shouts.

"Never mind that," the red-head yells over the sirens. "They're sending reinforcements. We have to get out of here. I think we've done enough damage."

They both look to Skye for conformation. She nods, and all of a sudden we're running again. After a while the red-head and man with arrows jump out of a second story window. Skye hesitates, and Thor offers to fly us both down. We get down safely, and run for a van, not too far from the Hydra building. The S.H.I.E.L.D director guy is waiting in the Van. I think his name was Phil, or something. He raises an eyebrow after seeing me follow Thor and the other in, but he comment on it. The van starts to move before I'm all the way in.

After we're settled, the man with arrows is the first to speak. "So you're Sygin?"

I give a shy nod. I feel bad for what I did to these people. I consider maybe apologizing to them. Maybe it would come off as hollow, but I'd do anything to stop the awkward stares. "I'd like to apologize for what happened back at your base. I didn't want anyone to get hurt, but I couldn't let you know who I am." They all look away from me, trying to avoid eye contact. So much for an apology.

We get to a large plane, landed in the middle of a brushed area. Thor breaks the silence. "I'm relieved to have found you, Sygin. I'm sure you do not wish to be kept from Asgard any longer. We should leave imme-"

"No!" I cut him off, sounding all too upset. The first thing that popped into my mind was Loki. I stammer, trying to find an excuse. "There are a few things I'd like to bring with me to Asgard. They are very dear to me, Thor. I'm sure the Allfather would understand if I stayed here an extra day or two to get them."

"Of course," he booms. "I will accompany you to procure your items."

"Really, its fine, Thor. I'm sure you have many princely duties to get back to. I will call on Heimdall when I'm ready to leave. There's not much I need."

Thor considers this for a moment. "I suppose you are right. I will go to Asgard to prepare for your return; the Allfather has insisted that you stay in the palace. I will verify that you will have all the necessary provisions."

"Thank you, Thor," I commend.

He walks away from the group and calls for Heimdall with a thunderous voice. In a multicolored-flash Thor disappears, leaving behind an intricate pattern on the ground. I turn back to the S.H.I.E.L.D agents, wondering how I'm going to get them to leave me alone as well. I have to get back to Loki.

"I truly am sorry for the trouble I've caused," I insist, trying to copy Loki's charm. These people need to trust me. "I'm sure Thor has explained that as part of my punishment I could not make any contact with another Asgardian."

"Yeah, he said something like that," Coulson begins. "If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions in the plane. We don't know who might be listening out here."

"By all means." I try to keep the annoyance off of my face. I follow him into a room with dark blue hexagonal panels on the walls. We sit across from one another at a metal stable. I'm not physically restricted, but I feel like I'm still a captive. I'm sure a hidden weapon is aimed at me for protection.

"First, who are you?" He seems genuinely interested; maybe this meeting isn't as hostile as I thought.

"My given name is Sygin, but I go by many different names on this planet. The latest one was Samantha Moore. I've lived on the Earth for more than one hundred years. I promise, I don't mean any ill-will to its inhabitants." I add the last part to try to gain Coulson's favor. He nods encouragingly, expecting me to say more. "Ummm, I'm not sure what you want to know."

"I want to know if you really are a friend to S.H.I.E.L.D., or if you shouldn't be trusted," he replies bluntly.

"Oh, I actually new Peggy Carter. We meat while we worked together at the S.S.R. together." Coulson looks shocked. I take it as a good sign, and continue talking. "I helped her develop some of her ideas for S.H.I.E.L.D., but I faked my death before it became a legitimate organization. I didn't want her to do any background checks on me once it was up and running. At the time, I went by the name Sally Clarkson. You might even have a file on me somewhere in your vaults."

Coulson looks like a child who was just told Santa Claus isn't real. He doesn't even try to hide it behind a poker face. "So, you're actually an ally to Earth?"

"Definitely," I answer. "Why do you ask? It's not as if I'll be here much longer."

Coulson furrows his brow and folds his arms looking apprehensive. "I'm trying to understand your relationship with Earth in connection to your relationship with Loki."

"Oh," is all I can manage. The knowledge of Loki's poor choices is still new to me. At the time, I was in a comma in a New York hospital. I know I don't understand fully, and I doubt I ever will. But, for now, I do know that I feel guilty.

"I want to be certain that letting you go won't cause another Battle of Manhattan," Coulson continues.

"In all honestly, if I wanted to enslave Earth, it would have been easier to do it in the Nineteenth Century." He still looks unconvinced, challenging me to prove my loyalty to Midgard. "Look," I start curtly. "I was there during the first and second World Wars, I fought every single civil rights movement in the US, I was there when the Berlin wall was torn down, I helped fight the Vietnam War, I fought apartheid, and I cried with relief when the Cold war was over. I feel as emotionally invested in this planet as you do. This has been my home for the past 126 years. I have no intention of hurting it."

Coulson considers this briefly before offering his hand for a handshake. I take it without hesitation. "In that case, you're welcome here anytime. Just try to warn us beforehand, especially if you're bringing Thor with you." I smile at the director's joke. "Would you like a ride to wherever it is you're going?"

"Sure." _I can just tell Loki to meet me at the Storage place where I keep all of my stuff_, I think to myself. "I need to get to an old storage facility in Ohio, could you maybe leave me there to collect a few things?"

"Anything you want."

This is good. Coulson at least trusts me. That means his team shouldn't be far behind. I just need to get a message to Loki, and everything should work out fine. "I don't mean to be a bother, but is there a restroom on this thing?"

Coulson stands, and motions towards the door. "This way."

Once I'm in the bathroom, I reach for my necklace. I've give myself a few moments to admire it. The white jewel in the center is the most exquisite things I've ever seen. It is held by a decorative silver metal that sparkles when hit by light at the right angle. It's the best gift I've ever received.

"_Cast_," I command it. The white gem flashes a brilliant blue, ready to receive a message. "Loki, meet me at the storage facility where you first found me. I'll be waiting." The gem flashes once then fades to its original white. The message has been sent. I wait anxiously for an answer. The jewel flashes another brilliant cobalt. "_Speak_."

The message is brief, but explains the situation in its entirety.

"Hydra."

My head starts to spin. He never got out. He's still in Hydra's custody. He could be anywhere by now.

I silently conclude that there is one way to solve this, and I need S.H.I.E.L.D.'s help.

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_Ta-Da! Dramatic, eh? I though it was anyway. The story is coming to a head, which is both exciting and nerve-racking. My first fanfiction is nearly over. D:_

_Anyway, next chapter will be from Skye's perspective. I have only written from her POV once which is a real shame. She's one of my favorite characters. So, I thought I'd give it another go before the Fan fic is done._

_Thanks to everyone who Reviewed/Favorited/Followed. You guys are the best!_


	18. Chapter 18

_Hey guys! Sorry for the wait. I've decided to screw the whole 'only post on Sundays' thing. Here's another chapter. I've been working on another story this week, and I've just been in that world's mindset. This chapter is pretty short, and its really dialogue-y. Sorry about that, but I figured that if I could get it down, i'd be able to focus on the next chapter more. Hope you don't mind!_

_I don't own any Marvel characters or concepts._

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Skye

Coulson called a meeting with Clint, Romanoff, and me after his conversation with Sygin. He left Mai and Fitzsimmons to watch her while we spoke. I don't like her being on this plane. Last time she was with us, Coulson had a massive migraine and Gemma got a black eye. I don't think she meant to hurt the team, but it happened regardless. I don't exactly trust her, but then again, I don't really dislike her either. She just seemed very lost last time we spoke. Now that she's leaving Earth within the next couple of days, I don't think she'll be an issue. I just want Sygin gone.

Sadly, the rest of the team isn't so eager to forget about what she did. Mai hasn't stopped glaring at her since she came out of the bathroom. Fitz's memory loss acts up when she's in the room. Romanoff and Barton have their hands resting on their weapons at all times, like she'll attack at any moment. I don't think she has much of a fight left to give. Truthfully, she looks sick. She _did_ just wake up from a year-long comma less than a week ago. I doubt she can last much longer without some medical attention.

I could tell Natasha and Clint were hesitant to leave Sygin alone when Coulson first said he wanted to talk to us. Mai gave them a look that said, _Don't worry. I'll handle her_. Then we walked into his ransacked office.

"We're taking Sygin to a storage facility in Ohio," Coulson starts. Natasha and Clint break out in groans.

"I want her off this plane, Coulson," Natasha almost orders. "You've seen how on-edge everyone is."

"She manipulated you, Fitz, and Gemma," Clint chimes in.

"Not to mention, she can still make us do whatever the hell she wants us to," Romanoff emphasizes. "How do we know she's not going to take all of us down?"

"We can't trust her Coulson."

"I do," I interrupt before they can continue. The two of them look at me like I'm mad. "Maybe I don't really trust _her_, but I do trust the situation. She looks bone-tired. She has no muscle to her body, and those Hydra agents really hurt her. I doubt she could manipulate us even if she tried." They seem to consider this. Coulson nods in agreement.

"Sygin just wants to get home," Coulson begins again. "The sooner we take her to this storage place, the sooner she's out of our hair, and we can go back to hunting Hydra. I don't want her in Hydra hands again, though. That would be the opposite of what we need."

Clint replies first. Romanoff looks just as pissed, but just a little more understanding. "Fine, but I want her guarded until she gets to there. She can't be let out of our sight."

"Okay," Coulson allows. "But please be a little less hostile when she's in the same room."

Romanoff rolls her eyes, but doesn't complain further. Maybe she just wants Sygin out of here as much as I do. Maybe she's plotting to burn Sygin at the stake. You can never really tell with Romanoff.

"Could you tell Mai I need to talk to her when you see her?" I nod, and take the opportunity to leave the room.

Sygin's standing uncomfortably in the far corner of the room by the time I reach the lounge. She's slouched over and droopy eyed, but Mai's death glare is enough to keep anyone on their toes.

"Coulson wants to talk to you, Mai." She heads for Coulson's office immediately, but doesn't take her eyes off of Sygin until the door is safely shut behind her. Sygin relaxes a bit.

"It's good to see you safe again," I offer trying to release the tension in the room.

Sygin nods. "Thank you." She pauses. "You're name's Skye, right?"

"Yup! That's me."

Sygin gives a nervous laugh. I sit down on the couch, making sure I can see the goddess in the corner of my eye. Her eyes swell for a moment, filling with tears. _What's wrong_? She swallows her emotions, trying to look calm. She takes a deep breath, and lets it out silently. I don't think she noticed that I am watching her.

"Look," she starts. Her arms are crossed over her chest as a barrier, and her leg is tapping nervously. She's anxious. "I wasn't sure who to tell, but you're the only one around here who doesn't look like they want to kill me. Long-story short, I know where another Hydra base it."

"What?" I exclaim, jumping out of my seat. I may not want to kill her, but I wouldn't put it past her to lie to us. "How do you _know_ where another Hydra base is?" I ask accusingly. Maybe Natasha and Clint were right.

"I cast a spell on a few of my guards. I can find wherever they are with magic," she explains quickly. She unclasps her necklace, and points it at the wall. "Project," she commands, her voice like silk. The jewel shines a vibrant blue light, projecting a map onto the wall. She points to a navy blue dot on the map. "They're all gathered in that building. I'm assuming that's another Hydra base."

I walk over to Sygin, trying to decide if I trust what she's saying. "Why didn't you tell Coulson earlier?"

She looks around, uncomfortable. "I didn't check to see if the spell worked until I got on the plane."

I raise my eyebrow. I want her to feel uncomfortable. She needs to know that if she's lying, she's probably not going to make it off this ship alive.

"Why are you telling me now?"

Sygin gives a breathy laugh. "These people tortured me in a cell, trying to get me to kill people. They need to be stopped. Not to mention, I'd love to make them pay personally." There's a conviction in Sygin's eyes.

Considering how frail she looks, I don't think making someone pay would be best right now. I don't think she's lying, though. Which is good. "You'll have to talk to Coulson. It's not my call to make."

Sygin sighs in relief. I'm pretty sure she's telling the truth, but there's something she isn't telling me. I'm not sure what to think. Nevertheless, I take her to Coulson's office, interrupting his conversation with Mai, Romanoff, and Barton.

"What is it Skye?"

"Ummm," is all I can manage, suddenly regretting my decision to interrupt. It could have waited until after their conversation. I step into the room, with Sygin by my side. "Well, Sygin's claiming to know the location of another Hydra base. I thought you should know."

"What?" Mai questions.

Natasha looks like she's about to blow steam. Her face is scarlet. "You talked to her?"

Barton looks slightly miffed, but Coulson's expression hasn't changed.

I shift a little under their glares. "She's shown me how she knows. I don't think she's lying. This should be checked out." I keep my voice confidant, even though I don't like to make these people mad.

"She could have cast a spell on you," Mai says concerned. I didn't think about that, but I doubt she did. Frankly, I don't think she has enough energy left to any real magic.

"Where's the muzzle we put on Loki?" Natasha offers. "That should keep the team safe."

Sygin hands fly to her mouth, looking shocked. "What?"

"Nat." Clint says strongly. The rest of the group just looks at her startled by her comment.

"Oh please," Natasha retorts. "I know I'm not the only one who's thought about it. Last year, an alien staff killed quite a few people. Not to mention, when Lorelei showed up, she almost took out your team. That's right, I read the files. Before that, Loki killed Coulson, and tried to take over the world. I'm sorry if I'm a little skeptical around aliens."

The group sits in stunned silence after she finishes. Nobody's sure how to respond. That is, until Sygin starts talking.

"I'm not sure what Lorelei did to your team, but I'm sure I dislike her as much if not more than you do. She's always been a bitch," Sygin looks around to make sure everyone's listening, pleased to know that she's captured the team's full attention. "What Loki's done isn't excusable in the least. I'm sorry for your friend's death. I can't help feel responsible for his actions…" she trails off.

"The point is, I'm just as human as you are. I've lived on this planet at least twice as long as most of you. I've lived through more of earth's events than you could dream, and I'm not going to do anything to harm it. If I wanted to hurt it, I would have done it the first 80 years I lived here. Honestly, I'm tired of trying to explain this to you. I'm on your side, and I want to keep the peace just as much as you do. Hydra is a very _real_ threat. I suggest you hurry up and decide if you trust me, because they're planning to do something big."

Sygin's voice is growing louder and louder as she speaks. "I understand why you may not trust me, but it's absolutely dumb not to follow up on this information."

Well, I'm sold. She's right, Hydra is our biggest threat right now, not some girl who's trying to give us information on it. I'll attack the Hydra base with just Sygin if that's what it takes, but I doubt it will. Clint is nodding; Mai look contemplative; Natasha looks impressed, as if Sygin at least earned her respect, if she didn't earn her trust; and Coulson looks like he's waiting for the team to gear up.

He speaks up first, "Whose going to tell Fitsimmons we're going?" Clint voluntarily leaves the room, probably

Sygin beams, happy that we're finally listening. "I have one request."

Coulson raises his brow in response.

"I'd like to have a chat with the people who've been beating me up the past couple of days."

This time Natasha responds, "I think I can have that arranged."

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_Hope you liked it! I'm working on the next chapter right away! Honestly, I don't know when I'm going to post again, what with school starting an all. Hopefully, it will be by next the 23rd. :P_


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